Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale
by Konsaki
Summary: All it took was a mischievous sister's prank for Kirito to become Kiriko on SAO's release day. Spending the day cross-playing was one thing... The world of SAO becoming reality, trapping him in a woman's body, was entirely different! Now, Kiriko and Leafa must reach the pinnacle of Aincrad to win a wish to return them home and regain their real bodies! SAO w/ Log Horizon Transition
1. Chapter 1

Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

06 Nov 2022 - Day 0

"Link start!"

With those words, Kazuto's vision washed away into a swirl of colors that quickly resolved into the familiar sights of the Town of Beginnings.

What wasn't familiar was the feeling of a breeze between his legs.

Gulping, Kazuto lowered his head and saw what he now half expected to see, a young woman's body, clad in the blue on white variant of the standard 'female starting clothes'.

"Oh, come on-" Kazuto's voice hitched as he heard his 'voice', the vocaliser changing it into more of a low airy feminine tone.

Clicking his mouth shut, he looked about the small courtyard, seeing dozens of other players logging in, looking about, checking their menus and talking amongst themselves. None of them were paying any attention to the awkward female avatar that started walking towards the fountain in the center of the area.

Moving to a spot where the water wasn't ripping much, Kazuto leaned forward to inspect himself.

A young woman, maybe a couple years older than he actually was, looked back with steely blue eyes framed by a pair of midnight black bangs down her cheeks. The rest of her raven tresses were bunched up in a twin ponytails that trailed down her back. Matched up with the cute, if slightly angular, face, Kazuto wouldn't have been surprised to see her as an idol on television.

A slender neck transitioned into a slender frame, the starter equipment showing her bare shoulders before curving out into a pair of breasts that declared 'this is a female avatar'. Turning to the side slightly, Kazuto breathed a slight sigh of relief that they weren't actually 'huge', smaller than his mother's, but from his perspective 'any' was too much.

All in all, it looked like someone tried to make a 'cute' older female version of his true body.

"If you keep your hair like that, I can keep calling you Nii-chan." A woman's voice broke him out of his inspection.

Turning, Kazuto found a blonde woman smiling down at him slightly, an unmistakable mischievous gleam to her forest green eyes.

"Sugu?" He hedged in his new feminine voice.

"Good afternoon, Nii-chan!" The now identified young woman cheerfully greeted before doing a slow spin. "How do I look?

The long blonde ponytail floated behind her spin before settling back down when she stopped awaiting appraisal. Kazuto could see hints of his sister's real looks under the changes made to the avatar, making him think of an older, more mature version of the girl… with a bigger chest than even her mother had.

"Aren't those going to be hard to fight with?" He tried to gently point out.

Suguha blinked in confusion, following her brother's gaze with her own before blushing heavily and covering the indicated body parts with her arms, ignoring the bright green tunic already covering the curves. "Nii-chan shouldn't look!"

Kazuto just quirked an eyebrow and silently gestured towards 'her' avatar.

Turning her gaze away with a brighter flush. "If it's too much, I'll change it later." Saying that, her vissage once more took up it's mischievous tone. "But Nii-chan is stuck with that for today because of a pen-al-ty!"

Kazuto just sighed at the playful tone coming from his adopted sister. If nothing else taught him to not give unspecific promises, this would be a pointed lesson, for sure.

Still, something clicked in his mind and he cringed. "Sugu, please tell me you didn't delete my guy avatar."

Suguha's bright green eyes blinked before she shook her head. "No, I didn't." She tapped her lips with a finger before pointing towards the avatar she created for Kazuto. "I did use it to help create this one, though. You know, to find out what Nii-chan liked."

"And then created the complete opposite, huh?" He quipped with quirked lips, crossing his arms before wincing and shifting them below 'his' breasts. He didn't really feel anything out of the ordinary, other than the fact they were there, but even that was disturbing, truth be told.

"You'd have had blonde hair, like me, if I did that." Suguha responded before grinning. "We would've looked like sisters! But I already get to call you 'Nee-chan', don't I?"

Kazuto shifted his arms into a crossed warding gesture. "Denied!"

His sister let out an amused laugh, sounding more like her mother than her real voice. It kind of surprised him that it took this long to realise that fact. "Aw, don't be like that 'Kiriko'! Just treat it like a girl's day out with your sister 'Leafa'!"

Quirking an eyebrow, Kazuto swiped the air with his hand in the 'menu gesture', seeing the holographic interface open before him. A quick menu transition showed his character stats page, the name line indeed filled in with 'KIRIKO', as his sister implied.

"I figured you'd like something similar, so I just changed the last character." Sugu- Leafa offered in explanation.

"So, if any of the other beta testers see me, the might figure out I'm cross-playing." Kiriko stated with a dry look to the now wilting blonde girl.

"Ah heh... oops?" Leafa lamely supplied, looking away while scratching at her cheek.

Kiriko just let out a sigh with a shake of his head, sending the twin ponytails waving down his back. "I'll live with it. It's just for today."

"That's the spirit, Nii-chan!" Leafa clapped her hands before her in cheer. "But… Um, what do we do now?"

Glancing at the clock in his still opened menu, Kiriko let out a thoughtful hum. "There's still almost two hours until the opening ceremony and we won't be able to leave the city until then."

Players were able to login into the game three hours before the official 'release', a grand ceremony marking that event. Even so, they didn't want early players getting a headstart, so the gates leading out of the Town of Beginnings were all blocked until the opening ceremony finished.

That still allowed brand new players to get used to the game, though. Not that beta players like him needed it.

"Well, let's start with the menu system…"

o0O0o

"...and that's it." He finished, closing the friend menu, his sister's character name the only one on it.

"'That's it'?!" Leafa stared at the raven haired girl before her. "How do you remember all that?!"

"Time and a lot of mistakes." Kiriko shamelessly replied with a shrug. "I believe in you, Sugu."

"It's Leafa, Nii-chan." The blonde girl mildly chastised her companion. "I read that we're not supposed to use our real names."

"Where'd you hear that?" Kiriko asked, not really refuting her but curious.

"I read it on the official forums. Something about 'Things new players should know'." Leafa explained. "They also said something about 'always be in character' but I didn't really understand it. If I'm playing the game, aren't I already in character?"

Kirito let out a light laugh before jerking slightly, letting out a sigh with the mental note of it was just for today. "I'd ignore that part. It's basically just for people that want to pretend that they 'are' their character and that it's not really a game."

"Oh…" Leafa tilted her head to the side in thought. "Did you do that, Nii-chan?"

"Not really." He answered with a shake of his head. "I mean, I didn't really talk about real world stuff, cause it breaks immersion, but I didn't pretend this was real. You might want to do the same, cause some people get really annoyed about it."

"Okay, Nii-chan." Leafa nodded with a serious.

"Right." Kiriko cupped his chin in thought. "I guess we could go over the Arts system, since we have time still." Giving a nod, he flipped open the menu and equipped the starting iron sword, the blade grip appearing over his right shoulder. "You'll want to equip your sword so you can follow along."

"Okay." The blonde girl nodded before fumbling through her menu, finally equipping the beginner blade on her left hip. "Like this?"

Kiriko nodded, pointing from his sword then towards his sister's. "You can change where it's held later, once you figure out where it's most comfortable. Right now, draw it and get used to the size and weight."

He stepped back and gave the green clad girl some room to swing the sword around in a two handed grip like she was holding a shinai. Taking a moment himself, he started moving his arms and legs, trying to get used to the odd balance the new avatar had compared to his usual one.

Reaching up to draw his own sword, he took a few practice swings before shadow fighting an imaginary goblin. He felt his sword strikes were decent but his dodges were a little awkward due to his lingering balance issues.

"Wow… pretty." Leafa's voice broke his concentration.

"W-what?!" His voice squeaked out in blushing embarrassment.

"That kata you just did. It was really pretty." His sister explained with a warm smile.

"Ah.. oh, right." He coughed into a clenched fist before holding his sword up. "A-anyways, let's go over Arts."

"Right!" Leafa nodded, now serious. "I read that they're super powerful but you freeze in place afterwards."

Kiriko pointed towards her. "That's the most important thing to remember! The more powerful, the longer the recovery afterwards. I've seen more people die to that than anything else."

"Wait, die?!" The girl looked warily around her.

Kiriko let out a small laugh. "Don't worry. All that happens is your avatar shatters and reforms back at the Cathedral after a thirty second timer ends. Sure, you lose a little skill experience as a penalty but it's nothing to freak out over."

"Cathedral?" Leafa asked with less worry and more curiosity.

"You can see the bell tower over there." He said, pointing towards the tower jutting over the surrounding buildings with his sword. "The main penalty for dieing is having to travel back to where you were when you died."

"Oh.. okay."

"Getting back to the Arts, they're all linked to a weapon type, like swords and spears having different Arts, but a lot of the weapons share the beginning Arts to make trying out new weapons easier." He explained, opening up his menu and angling it so she could see, due to it still being in 'party view' mode. "If you go to your skills list and select the weapon skill, in this case 'one handed sword', it'll show you any Arts you unlocked."

"So, Horizontal is an Art?"

"It's the first one anyone gets but don't let that fool you, I was using Horizontal all the way until the end of the beta. It's quick and has a short recovery time, so you can dodge faster if you need to." He selected the Art and a little picture of a blank person holding a sword appeared. "This shows you how to perform any Art you unlock but I can show you easier than this."

"Okay." Leafa accepted with a nod. "So, what do we do?"

"So, Horizontal takes you in a straight line forward with a single horizontal slash, hence the name. You have to hold your sword in just the right spot while standing correctly for the Arts system to recognize what you want to do, but once you do that, the Arts will just happen. It's kinda easier to show than explain." He looked around and oriented himself where he had enough room for the Art. "So, you take your sword and hold it like this. Once it flashes, you just relax and the system takes over."

To show an example, Kiriko held the right pose a second longer than normal, letting Leafa see the sword flash. Then, he shot forward and slashed the air, his ponytails flying behind him while his blade left behind a glowing afterimage for a split second. A moment later, he recovered and stepped back towards his sister.

"Okay, now-"

"That was pretty cool, Nee-chan!" A man's voice interrupted.

o0O0o

"Where are those guys?" Klein muttered to himself as he walked down yet another alley trying to find any of his friends. Letting out a groan of frustration, the tall man scratched at his avatar's long crimson hair before adjusting the maroon bandana keeping it controlled.

Looking down both directions of the narrow street, he tried to spot someone based off the descriptions they shared early today.

Not seeing any of them through the crowded street and merchant stalls, he let out a sigh. "This is going to take forever."

Persevering, he moved on down the alley towards the next street. Instead of a street, though, it looked to open to a small courtyard with a fountain in the center.

He jumped back as a woman flashed into view, her blade literally slicing the air to leave an afterimage.

"Holy shit!" Klein whispered as he cute looking girl recovered and moved back towards a blonde bombshell.

Shaking his head to break loose of his shock, he gathered himself up and sauntered up to the two beauties, one with hair dark as night and one the brightness of the sun.

"That was pretty cool, Nee-chan!"

The lithe looking girl jerked at his voice. "W-what?!"

Taking her reaction as just surprise, Klein grinned and pointed to her weapon. "That thing you did. It was pretty cool!"

"Ah… well, it's just a weapon Art." She said with a light blush on her cheeks.

"Nii-chan was showing me about them." The blonde beauty added, getting Klein to quirk an eyebrow in confusion.

"'Nii-chan'?"

"Ah…" 'Nii-chan's' face grew even more flushed. "The hair! My sister changed my hair as a prank!" She declared, pointing towards the twin ponytails.

Klein blinked his brown eyes before barking out a laugh, hearing the pun playing off of both the title 'big brother' and the number 'two'. "Man, that sounds like something one of my friends would do."

"Yeah…" The raven haired girl let out a strained laugh. "She just won't let it go. I'll fix it tomorrow."

"Well, if it helps, you still look amazing." Klein commented, setting her blush go nuclear while the blonde slapped her hands over her mouth to hold in a fit of laughter, no doubt finding her sister's reaction hilarious. A sudden realization almost made the redhead slap his own head. "Ah, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. The name's Klein and it's really great to meet you two!"

The blonde contained her laughter enough to send him a smile. "Hello! My name's Leafa and Nii-chan's is Kiriko. It's nice to meet you, too."

"Beautiful names to match beautiful ladies." Klein pitched a sweeping bow, getting the blonde to fall into another bout of giggles.

"A-Anyways!" The raven haired girl, Kiriko, cried out, desperately trying to take control of the conversation. "Weapon Arts!"

The flustered girl gave a quick rundown of the menu operation, skills and how to do the first Weapon Art, Horizontal. She even gave another practical example, shooting forward and slashing the air to leave an afterimage.

Now, it was both his and Leafa's turn to use the Art.

"Move your foot forward more and bend at the knee some." Kiriko's directions were all business as she called out what her sister was doing wrong. Glancing in his direction, she pursed her lips. "Your sword is being held too high and your leg's too wide out, I think."

"So, how mu-." His question cut off as Leafa shot forward and executed the same slice as her sister, including afterimage. "Whoa, congrats!"

"Thanks!" Leafa smiled warmly, basking in her success.

"Good. Now do it ten more times." Her older, but smaller, sister directed.

"Alright!" Leafa agreed, moving back to her starting point.

"So…" Klein said to gain Kiriko's attention once more. "What am I missing?"

She looked over his form with a critical eye, cupping her chin with a hand. "Front foot back a little and pull your sword hand back a little."

Giving a mental shrug, he followed her direction before he heard a ping. The next moment, his body shot forward and sliced the air without his input. A second later, he regained control and shook himself. "Whoa! That's a weird feeling."

"You'll get used to it." The raven haired girl commented, watching her sister set up the stance to use the Art again.

"You sound like you've got some experience with this." Klein commented, missing how the girl startled as he also tried to activate the Art again.

"Ah… I read a lot of forums after the beta happened." She said in explanation.

"Makes sense." He stated, trying to find the right position again.

"Move your sword down a bit." She directed, causing him to hit the sweet spot and shoot forward once more.

Shaking himself loose, Klein watched Leafa do the same Art once more. "So, how powerful is this thing?"

Kiriko cocked her head cutely in thought. "A quarter, maybe a third, of the beginner monster health."

"And they even used it at the end of the beta!" Leafa pitched in, taking a break from the practice.

"Huh…" Klein hummed in thought before noticing other players traveling in a similar direction. "Where's everyone headed?"

He saw Kiriko swipe her hand for the menu. "Probably heading towards the central plaza for the opening ceremony. We should probably head that way, too."

"Hey, mind if I join you? You know, until I find my friends?" Klein asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sure!" The blonde girl smiled to him, getting him to grin back.

"Thanks!" The man let out a laugh. "I'd probably get lost, even with everyone headed there." He grinned as Leafa giggled while her sister just rolled her eyes. "So, any idea what this ceremony's about?"

"From what I read, it's setting up the main storyline for the game." Kiriko explained, this time truthfully answering as this information only came out after the beta ended. "They didn't really show the story during the beta, mainly focusing on the mechanics and the AI system."

"Makes sense, I guess." Klein mused, scratching his scruffy beard. "So, what do you think it'll be about? Go save a princess? Evil dragon leading the forces of darkness? King gone mad with power?"

"Well, it could be just about anything." Kiriko shrugged it away. "With a hundred floors, where it took a month just to get to the boss room of the tenth, there's a lot of unknowns."

"Oh! What about a race to the top, where the first person to reach it wins?" Leafa suggested with a giggle. "And the prize is a joke prize!"

"Like a phone charm for your sword, right?" Klein joked back with a grin, setting the blonde's giggles off even more.

The raven haired girl just rolled her eyes, though Klein could see the hint of a smile hiding on her lips. "Kayaba-sensei wouldn't do something like that. I'm pretty sure he's more into the grand adventure type quests. You know, the one where you need to save the world or something."

"Kayaba… that's the guy who made this game, right?" Klein asked, getting a nod from the informed girl. "I think I've seen him on TV. Doesn't look like the kind of guy to fight monsters with a sword."

Kiriko let out a snort of amusement. "Well, I guess you just can't judge people by their looks, huh?"

"Yeah, they could be someone completely different once you get to know them. Right, Nii-chan?" The prankster sister poked the bashful girl, who lit up with another flush.

Klein was really interested in whatever this inside joke was between them, but let it slide. Instead, he swiped open his menu as they continued their sedate pace towards the site of the ceremony. "Hey, I hope I'm not being too forward, but you mind if I add you two ladies as friends? Maybe we could meet back up in a few days and see how far we've gone." He offered up, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sure! It'll be like a race!" Leafa answered for them both, accepting the friend request he sent her first. "We can see how we all changed!"

Kiriko just endured the nettling, silently accepting the request but having no intention of playing this character again after today anyways. A small smirk quirked her lips.

The payback would be glorious.

"...closed! Please move along to the next entrance!" A loud man's voice slowly resolved over the sound of moving feet and chattering players. "This entrance is closed! Please move along…"

"Weird…" The twin tailed girl mused as the three merged with the new flow of players.

"Maybe that's where the stage is or something." The redhead offered with a shrug.

He was proved correct as they entered the next archway to the central plaza, a line of guardsmen in heavy armor blocking off a section of the open area.

"Wow… look at all the people!" Leafa gazed in wonder at the constantly growing crowd of players as more and more filed in from the other archways.

"There supposed to be around fifty thousand copies sold at release." Kiriko stated, her vision of the area quickly being blocked by the growing mass of people.

"Yeah, this 'limited release' was a real pain." Klein said with a small frown. "I had to use two days of vacation to camp out for my Nervegear." He glanced over at the two sisters. "What about you two?"

"Oh, our mother got one as part of her job and gave it to Nii-chan." Leafa gestured to the slightly shorter girl. "And I won mine at a raffle."

"Okay, not going to lie, I have super envy about your luck." He flashed a grin before trying to look over the crowd. "Mind if I borrow a little to find my friends?"

Kiriko let out a soft snort of amusement. "With all these people, you'll need more than a little."

"Yeah, I know, right?" Klein laughed with the joke. "With how big this place is, how'd you two find each other?"

"I was really lucky and found Nii-chan in the same area I arrive in!" Leafa answered with a smile.

Klein just shoot his head in mild disbelief. "Yeah, you've got to have a 'Super Lucky' skill or something. There's just no way…"

The man trailed off with the rest of the crowd as soft white feathers slowly drifted from the clear blue sky.

"Pretty…" Leafa said in awe, even Kiriko's mouth open in wonder.

Other murmurs of similar feelings popped up in the waiting mass of players as Kiriko reached out to catch a feather, only for it to fade away at her touch.

"Hey, look!" Someone nearby called, drawing their eyes to the mote of gold light that sparked in the blocked off area. As the sparkling glow grew, a heavenly chorus faded in with wordless singing.

"Wow… they're going all out." Klein mused, watching with wide brown eyes.

The players watched, enraptured with growing anticipation, as the golden light and singing grew until a crescendo held till a flash of gold light enveloped the plaza.

Blinking his eyes clear, Klein first noticed that the chorus was gone.

The second was that a larger than life angel floated above the crowd of players, her snow white hair and robes flowing with some ethereal winds, her feathery wings spread wide, haloed by the eclipsed sun. Thin bands of red ribbon floated around her, almost as if embracing the angelic beauty with their soft caresses.

"She's so pretty!" Leafa whispered in amazement.

"Yeah, she is." Klein agreed, taking in the serene smile on the goddess' face.

"Welcome, Adventurers, to Aincrad." The gentle voice spoke to him, as if she was whispering directly into Klein's ear and no one else existed.

"I am Cardinal, administrator of this world." She declared before waving her arms as wide as her wings. "Everything you gaze upon, from the animals and trees to the rivers and skies are under my purview." A sadness took Cardinal's face. "But even one such as I have limitations."

Holding out a gentle hand, an image of the Tower of Aincrad appeared before her, soon turning into a transparent layer of floors, the entirety of it awash with golden light. Slowly, from the very pinnacle and floor by floor, the stack of layers turned a sickly dark, leaving a sole layer a shining gold.

"The dragon queen, Tiamat, has usurped the Throne of Wishes and is using its power to spread her dark children across the lands, bringing decay to any they touch." Smiling down at the gathered players before her, Cardinal waved her hands towards them. "This is the reason you have been summoned, to do that which I cannot."

Klein knew this was a near standard 'call to adventure' but the spectacle and atmosphere weighed down on him, making it seem so much more grand a quest from the angelic being.

"With the celestial laws preventing me from acting, only you summoned adventurers have the ability to cleanse the lands of corruption and set the world once more into balance." She explained, the image of the tower zooming in to show just the current floor and the one above it, a connecting tower between the levels, a dark miasma flowing down it to slowly infect the bottom floor. "Even now, her corruption spreads to the last bastion of hope."

"Tiamat's champions both spread the queen's evil taint and prevent you from reaching the Throne of Wishes, hiding in the spires connecting the world's lands. Those chosen by Tiamat are generals and monstrosities compared to their more common brethren and I fear you will face many struggles to reach the Throne."

Cardinal's concern washed away with a smile as she gave her unconditional support. "But I have faith in you, summoned adventurers."

Klein could feel his fingers twitching at the anticipation driving through his being, only the weight of the ceremony keeping him from fidgeting.

"You will travel the plains, cross mighty rivers and explore the darkest ruins as you quest to spread my light back onto these corrupted lands." She waved her hand and the levels of the tower started turning gold once more, one by one.

Klein blinked as his vision glitched, splitting and then recongoining in a near instant. He chalked it up to nerves, as he clenched his hands into fists to keep them from shaking.

"Adventures to be had, quiet nights by the fire with friends, glory earned through valorous combat with the forces of darkness, all of this await you and more."

"Nii-chan… I don't feel good." Leafa moaned, dragging Klein's view from the angel and towards the blonde girl. She had a hand against her head, looking like she was about to collapse if it wasn't for her sister's support.

"Ung… what's going on?" Another player's voice nearby groaned, dragging Klein's eyes as he saw more and more players showing weird reactions.

"...forth, my brave champions! Adventure and danger awaits around every corner of Aincrad."

Another visual glitch slammed Klein's brain, forcing the man to his knees as his legs gave out. "W-what?"

Throughout it all, player after player falling to the ground, Cardinal continued on. "Glory. Money. Fame. Whatever your desire, the Throne of Wishes can grant it, only if you have the will to grasp it!"

"...Sugu…" Kiriko moaned out before losing her battle with gravity, the sisters collapsing to the cobblestones.

Klein lasted a second longer before tipping sideways, his eyes resting on the floating Cardinal as she reached a hand high above her, a serene smile gracing her angelic being.

"Adventurers! Your own story for the liberation of Aincrad begins… now!"

Her fingers snapped and everything went dark.

o0O0o

Kazuto awoke to the sounds of chirping birds and the feeling of warm sunshine against his cheek. Cracking open his eyes, he saw the face of his sister's avatar peacefully sleeping amidst a halo of blonde hair.

Furrowing his brow, he ran through his last memories; of the opening ceremony, of Cardinal appearing and the otherworldly feeling of awe and majesty she held.

And how he collapsed and blacked out.

Pushing himself up, he realised he was still wearing the Kiriko avatar that Suguha had made for him.

Seated on the cool cobblestones, he looked out over the plaza, seeing all the other players in similar situations as himself, either laying on the ground or slowly waking up.

"Ung… what was that?" Klein's voice groaned out, as he flopped onto his back to hold his face.

"I don't know." Kiriko responded, still hearing the young woman's voice come out of his mouth. Glancing back down, he reached out and softly shook his sister's shoulder. "Come on, Sugu, wake up."

At the stimulus, the blonde groaned and tried to hide her face from the light. "Wa'na sleep…"

"Sugu, wake up." Kiriko repeated with a little more insistence in her shaking.

Leafa finally responded, pushing herself up while rubbing her eyes. "Nii-chan?" Green eyes looked around and saw all the other players on the ground. "What happened?"

"I don't know." He repeated the same answer he gave Klein earlier. "That never happened before."

"Before?" Klein's voice parroted with raised eyebrows.

"Nii-chan was in the beta." Leafa stated, before yawning.

"Sugu…" Kiriko warned his sister, giving a light glare.

"Hey, it's cool! Don't worry! I'm just trying to figure out what just happened." The redheaded man said, pushing himself up to standing. Reaching down, he offered his companions a hand up.

Taking it with his avatar's own more dainty hand, Kiriko felt himself pulled up to standing. Looking down to the hand still held within Klein's bigger grip, he frowned.

"Ah, sorry." Klein let go and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"No, that felt off." The black haired girl stated in confusion, pulling an arm up and pinching the skin only to wince. "Okay, that's weird."

"What is, Nii-chan?" Leafa asked, watching her big brother pinch his arm again in a different spot but with the same result.

"The sensory system, it treats pain like a pressure at the point you get hit. This…" He indicated the two red spots on his arm. "This hurts!"

Klein just looked at him for a moment before his eyes widened and the redhead pinched his own arm to the same effect. "What the hell?!"

Kiriko forced himself to keep his breathing measured, doing his best to prevent any panic as he tried to think things through logically. There might have been a glitch with the sensory processing subsystem, which would explain why everyone passed out. It also explained why the feeling of her hand in Klein's felt weird, too.

A shriek of panic from across the plaza snatched his attention, a brown haired girl pointing at something invisible, probably her menu, while her friend looked at where she was pointing. "It's not there! Look!"

Curious, Kiriko opened his own menu and looked for something missing.

A block of ice ran down his spine.

"Nii-chan?"

"The logout button… it's gone!" He declared, his feminine voice raising in pitch with his emotions.

Opening his own menu, Klein's eyes widened even more. "You're right! What the hell's going on, man?!"

"I don't know!" Kiriko cried out, feeling his heart racing.

Another block of ice ran down his spine as he reached up and felt his neck, feeling the quickened pulsing of the artery, even as more cries of panic emerged from the waking crowd of players.

Looking around, Kiriko felt the mood of the players around his small group shift and felt the intense desire to leave.

Grabbing his sister's hand, he started pulling her towards the archway they entered the plaza through.

"Nii-chan?! What're you doing? What's going on?!" Leafa's increasingly panicked questions came out, causing Kiriko to grip her hand tighter.

"I don't know!" He repeated yet again. "We need to leave!"

"Leave to where?" Klein demanded, pushing along in their wake.

"Anywhere but here!" Kiriko answered back, finally breaking free and rushing towards the plaza exit. "Somewhere I can think!"

As they made their way through the streets and alleys, Kiriko could feel that he was being watched but the only other people were the NPC's manning the stores or walking their programmed routes. He pushed the feeling off, making for the direction of the courtyard he first logged-in in.

Thankfully, it was empty of people, the only sounds were some birds chirping and the soft bubbling of the fountain.

"Nii-chan, what's going on?!" Leafa demanded again, pulling her hand from her brother's grip. "I'm scared!"

"You ain't the only one." Klein muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "I wanna know what happened back there and why we had to run."

"I…" Kiriko halted as he tried to formulate his words. "Do you really want to be in the middle of fifty thousand panicking people?"

"I… shit. No, I don't but my buddies are still in that mess!" Klein gestured back the way they came. "I can't just leave them like this!"

"They'll be fine." The black haired girl reached up to rub her forehead in frustration. "You can't PvP in town."

"So, we just booked it why?" Klein raised an eyebrow.

"Cause I needed somewhere quiet to think!" He snapped back, shooting a glare at the taller man.

"Nii-chan…" His sister's tone drew his attention, finding her seated on the edge of the fountain on the verge of tears. "I don't want to play this anymore. I want my Mom!"

Seeing the tears fall, Kiriko moved over and pulled her into a hug, sitting next to her. "It'll be okay, Sugu. We'll be okay."

"Hey, you guys!" Klein's shout startled him, causing Kiriko to flick steely blue eyes towards the retreating redhead. The taller man was walking towards a pair of NPC guardsmen who had patrolled into the courtyard but now stood waiting for the player to reach them. "Do you know what's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Adventurer. Could you be more specific?" The helmeted man stated in response, causing Kirito to narrow his eyes.

"Why'd we all pass out? Where's the logout button? Why can we feel pain?!" Klein started to gesture wildly as his voice raised to a shout.

The two guardsmen looked to each other and seemed to hold a silent conversation with their expressions. "Sir… I'm sorry but I still don't understand what you're asking." The guardsman held out a hand that wasn't holding a spear. "If you'd like to, I could try and find my Captain. Maybe he could help you?"

Klein frowned and opened his mouth-

"Klein!"

He glanced back at his name being called, seeing Kiriko shake her head at him, face serious. "I… ah, sorry. I'll figure it out on my own."

"If you say so, sir." The guardsman eyed him warily before the pair turned to continue their patrol.

Kiriko watched them march off before looking towards the approaching redhead, shifting his sister's sniffling frame that now lay across his lap.

"Why'd you stop me?" Klein asked, rubbing his neck in frustration.

"Those NPCs… they weren't acting normal." Kiriko stated, looking to where the guards had exited the area. "They were… too real."

"Too… real…" Klein repeated before shaking his head, pleading with his hands. "Please tell me you're not saying what I think you are!"

"I can feel my heart." The black haired girl said instead with a grimace. "I shouldn't!"

"Oh, come on, please…" Klein pleaded, clenching and releasing his hands into fists. "This can't be happening!"

"Then what did happen!?" Kiriko cried back before balking, feeling his sister's clenched hands gripping his clothes. Taking a breath, he forced himself to calm down. "We can't log out, we feel pain, everything feel real and those guards acted like real people. We can't just ignore the idea that this might be REAL!" He hissed the last word like a curse.

The thought ate away at him, cause if this was real, then he really was a girl right now and there wasn't a way back to being 'him'.

He… he took a deep breath to try and keep his calm.

"Didn't you see when we noticed there's no way to log out? The GM Help button's gone, too." Kiriko said bitterly.

Klein scowled and grabbed at the bandanna ringing his head. "This… this can't be real. It can't… I've got work tomorrow and college classes…"

"And I'm a guy stuck in a girl's body, but there's nothing we can do about it!" Kiriko yelled at the man to try and keep him panicking.

Silence filled the courtyard at that declaration.

"Nii-chan… I'm sorry." The blonde girl sniffled out, causing Kiriko to sigh.

"It's not your fault, Sugu."

"Wait… you're really a guy?" Klein asked, a sour look on his face.

"Yeah." The black haired girl looked away. "This character was just a penalty prank, just for today…"

"I'm sorry." Leafa repeated, gripping her sibling's dress tighter.

Kiriko placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Sugu. It's not your fault." He let out a sigh and looked back up to the grimacing redhead. "Look, maybe I'm wrong, I really hope I am, but what other explanation is there?"

"But why do we still have our menu?" Klein questioned, swiping his hand to show the floating holographic interface.

"I don't know." Kiriko admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe it's because we had access to them before… before the Change?"

Klein let out a breath before messing with the menu. "Just a sec, let me try something." Kiriko saw him pull up the keyboard and type something in. "You get that?"

Figuring out what he was doing, he swiped open her own menu and opened the messenger function, seeing a 'test' message from Klein. "Looks like that's working like normal, at least."

"Yeah, at least." The man ran a hand through his hair, before letting out a sigh. "Look, I really need to find my friends and see if one of them figured out anything else. You two going to be okay?"

"Yeah… I think so." Kiriko nodded back before indicating the girl laying in his lap. "We're just going to take things easy… maybe get a room at an inn to relax."

Leafa's stomach grumbled, causing her to curl up slightly.

"And get some food." Kiriko added with a wry grin.

"Great… we need to eat, too." Klein sighed at yet another indicator things had gone off the rails.

"To be fair, you needed to eat before, too." Kiriko pointed out. "But it was just a status bar that caused a 'hungry' debuff if you didn't eat."

"Right, well… I'm going to find my friends." Klein stated, nodding towards the guy in a girl's body. "I'll send you guys a message later."

"Good luck." Kiriko called out as the red headed man walked back towards the plaza where this mess all started. Klein just waved over his shoulder before breaking out into a jog as he turned the corner.

o0O0o

"That'll be thirty eight col." The tavern waitress said, placing two steaming loafs of bread and a small clay jar on the table.

"Ah… just a second." Kiriko said, sliding open the menu and typing something in, causing some coins to drop into his other hand. The waitress took them with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, not that the raven haired girl cared.

Looking across the table, he spotted his sister hunched over with a downcast look. Pushing over one of the plates, Kiriko also slid over the small jar of berry jam. "Come on, Sugu. Eat up." He urged, popping the jar open. "The jam is actually pretty good."

When the blonde refused to move, Kiriko let out a sigh. Reaching out, he ripped a hunk of bread off the loaf and spread the jam on it herself before holding it out. "Sugu, eat."

Robotically, Leafa took the food and started eating before blandly saying, "It's good."

Kiriko nodded, tasting the tart berry jam on his own tongue from her own piece. It tasted different from his time in the beta but he guessed that could just be chalked up to the Change. Shaking himself out of his musing, he noticed his sister had stopped eating as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Sugu…"

"Mom was going to make tempura tonight." Leafa whispered, wiping her eyes and looking at her brother. "Nii-chan… What about Mom?"

Kiriko actually thought about it, haven't considered their parent in things yet. "Well, if we're still in the game, she just has to pull the Nervegear off our heads to wake us up." The next thought had him grimacing. "If this is 'real', then… our bodies might be dead, missing or something else. We're sort of running blind here."

Leafa made a sour face. "It sounds like something out of a manga or lite-novel…"

Kiriko let out an amused snort. "You know, if that's true, there's only one thing to do, right?"

"What?"

He jabbed a finger down onto the hardwood table. "We have to 'beat the game'."

His sister eyed him, sort of like he said either the most genius thing she's ever heard or the most insane thing ever. "Just 'beat the game'?"

He didn't blame her, really. It was insane but everything told him this situation was insane, so why not think of an insane solution. "Think about it; before we blacked out, Cardinal was talking about a Throne of Wishes and how we could wish for whatever we wanted. So, why not just wish for everything to go back to normal?"

"Nii-chan… that's stupid… like super stupid." Leafa gave him a flat look before taking another bite of jammed bread.

Kiriko just shrugged her bare shoulders. "Other than waiting for Mom to pull the Nervegear off, this is the only thing I can think of. I mean, what's the worse that can happen?"

"We die?" She answered flatly before a hint of fear entered her eyes.

"Sugu, the menu still works, so that means the death system should still work. The worse that'll happen is we lose some skill points and respawn here at the Cathedral."

Leafa looked at him with her new forest green eyes of hers. "Nii-chan… are you sure? Like, super-duper really-sure sure?"

Kiriko held his sister's gaze for a few moments before letting out a sigh. "No… I'm not." He took another bite of bread, taking the time to think. "Okay, with the amount of Col we start out with, we can last three, maybe four, days until we run out of money, maybe more if we just sleep outside instead of an inn. Even if I'm not sure about the death system working, we can still fight the boars and wolves just outside town for some easy money and experience. In fact, we should probably start hunting sooner than later, so we'll have less players to compete with."

Leafa ate the last bit of her bread while thinking over what her brother had said. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, of this, I'm sure." He responded with a confident smile. "You'd basically have to lie down and let these mobs kill you for them to kill you." He tapped the table in importance. "Really, I'd like to head out to the outpost and fight the mobs out there. They're a little harder but give better rewards. Not only that, but if the quest system's the same, I'd like to get a sword upgrade out there, too."

"If you're sure…" The green clad girl hedged, not really feeling her brother's confidence.

"How about this; we rent a room for the night and then go hunt the mobs just outside the city for practice this evening. You get to fight against real mobs and get used to it, while I get used to fighting in this new body." Kiriko offered, pulling off another piece of bread and spreading jam on it.

His sister hummed in thought, tapping her pursed lips with a finger. After a few moments, she nodded. "Okay, Nii-chan. Let's do it."

Kiriko let off a grin and lifted her mug of water towards his sister. "To us beating the game!"

Leafa smiled back and tapped her own mug against it. "To beating the game!"

END OF CHAPTER 1

o0O0o

A/N

Huge Author's Notes covering my thoughts on the story and where it's going. Read if you want to suggest Avatars or whether Kazuto gets to change back to Kirito before the story ends.

Had a binge session of watching Log Horizon and then SAO. The idea of having SAO in a Log Horizon type situation instead of a 'death game' just kept gnawing on me but I knew just that one change wouldn't have been enough.

Then I remember that Suguha was literally never mentioned until the ALO arc and that's literally years after Kazuto got stuck in SAO. I wondered what Sugu was like before her brother got stuck in the game, with her only just able to visit his comatose body at the hospital, wondering if at some random time he could just die without warning, like some of the others had.

Regressing from that, I saw her as more of a tomboy, what with her grandfather forcing her to start kendo while young but her keeping with it well into ALO. As a tomboy, I figure she'd be more open and connected with Kazuto, especially once she started being interested in something he was interested in, ie SAO.

So, to get her in SAO, I had her win a raffle to get her own Nervegear. I actually wrote out the 'chapter 0' which would have been the first chapter but it just turned out to have the wrong emotional start to the story.

Basically, it was a situation where Suguha was getting resentful of Kazuto spending all his time either in the Beta or studying game mechanics and future updates, so she causes a fight with him. Midori, their mother, basically has a 'come back to us' talk with Kazuto and asks him to spend a day with Suguha, where they come across the raffle.

Suguha basically fanagles a promise from Kazuto that if she wins, he owes her one 'penalty'. When she does win the grand prize of a Nervegear and a release copy of SAO, she demands to make a character that Kazuto has to use for the first day, as a double duty prank. First, he's wondering what type of character she's going to make during the month until SAO releases and, second, he has to deal with it during live gameplay.

From the Anime we know that Crossplay in SAO isn't impossible (Mirror Item scene), so I went with that cause what little sister wouldn't?

Also, since it wasn't going to be a death game, I had to rewrite the opening section where Kayaba would have done the 'haha I'm evil' part and treat it like a game dev would have actually done it. I also had to build a storyline for SAO other than 'kill the last boss to survive' since it's never really explained in the normal universe. It still turns out to be the same reasoning but it's a more defined goal that coincides with the story.

There's also the Log Horizon thing, where the lore of the game turns out to be real after the Transition.

Anyways, expect to see other characters from SAO and ALO in this story, since I expanded the starting player pool from 10,000 to 50,000, which is much closer to a true game release in Japan, even if it's still really small and you factor in a limited first release. I'm not saying everyone will appear and even if they do, they will be appearing as their Avatar, not as their 'real' looks. If they're an ALO character, expect to see a human version of their fairy form, like how I did with Leafa.

If you have any suggestions for SAO characters' avatars, leave them in a review.

Finally, I'm thinking of having them eventually find a 'Shapechange Potion' like they Shiro gives to Akatsuki in Log Horizon. I'm just not set fully on whether or not Kiriko will get one or not. Leave your suggestion and why in a review. I'll take those into consideration, like the avatar suggestion above.


	2. Chapter 2

Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

06 Nov 2022 - Day 0

Her foot slid back, her body twisting as the boar lunged, it's bulk ruffling the hem of her skirt with the near dodge. The edge of her sword cut a thin red line across it's flank, with no real leverage behind the strike it wasn't much but she considered it better than nothing.

The fact that her foot slid into the right stance for her to activate her only Art was just icing on the cake.

Raising the sword into position, the girl flashed forward and slashed just as the boar turned to face her, the edge of the blade slicing through its eyes and into its skull.

Prying the blade loose, the blonde girl watched the boar stumble and flop over, its lifebar emptying as the mob hit the ground. It exploded into crystalline shards, just like the wild pigs before.

Glancing back at her brother, she sheathed her weapon while dismissing the loot window. Noticing the frown on her brother's lips, Leafa herself frowned. "Did I do something wrong, Nii-chan?"

Kiriko blinked, shifting his steely blue gaze to his sister. "What? No, you did fine. I was just thinking about the…" He waved a hand towards where the mob died. "It's just, I'm still trying to figure out what things changed and why some didn't."

Leafa thought about it for a second, looking to the bare green grass around her. The grass flashed crimson in her mind's eye. "I think I like it like this."

"Yeah, I agree with you on that." Her black haired sibling nodded at the thought. "But it doesn't make sense, why make everything real but leave this exactly like the game?"

"Maybe because it didn't need to change?" Leafa hedged with a shrug. "Does it matter?"

Kiriko let out a sigh with a shake of his head, causing the twin ponytails to sway across his character's back. "I don't know. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, but the faster we figure it out the faster we can beat the game."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. Nii-chan is really smart!" Leafa smiled at her brother, resting her left hand on the pommel of her sword. She waved a chastising finger towards her sibling. "But trying to find out all the secrets of the world in just one day might be a little much!"

Kiriko let out a laugh. "Yeah, you're probably right, Sugu." Having said that, he looked over the fields and farmlands that populated the area outside the Town of Beginnings, seeing more boars rooting through the grass and crops. It looked exactly like he'd expected it to look before the opening ceremony and the change.

The growing shadows of the evening sun dipping towards the horizon ticked off another change in his mental checklist of changes, as he glanced at the clock in the menu. Instead of a six hour day cycle SAO had in the beta, the world now had a normal twenty-four hour cycle, it seemed. With the old cycle, the sun would just be raising instead of still being an hour or so before setting below the horizon as it was.

Even with the reddening sky, he saw more players out hunting mobs just like they were than the last time he checked.

"So, do you want to keep fighting or head on back?" He posited to his sister.

"Hmm?" Leafa let out a confused sound, looking out into the distance herself.

"It's getting late." He pointed out, getting her to look towards the evening sky.

"Oh. Hmm. I guess we should go back..."

Kiriko grinned at the reluctance in his sister's voice. "Really getting into it, huh?"

"Yeah… It's fun." Leafa said before wiping at her eyes.

Kiriko stepped over and placed a hand on the taller girl's shoulder. "Are you okay, Sugu?"

The blonde girl wiped her eyes and flashed a watery smile at her brother. "Yeah. Just thinking this is around the time Mom was gonna make dinner."

"It was going to be tempura." Kiriko remembered, a wan smile on his lips. He let out a breath. "That just means she'll pull off the Nervegear at any moment, right?"

"Yeah!" Leafa nodded. "And then we can have dinner and tell Mom all about this!"

"Right!" Her brother agreed, jerking a thumb over his shoulder towards the city walls. "Want to head back and relax?"

The idea of relaxing, after hours of hunting boars and a few wolves, sounded amazing to the blonde. Thinking about it, she stretched out her back muscles, raising her arms above her, groaning at the feeling. "Yeah, that sounds amazing, Nii-chan!" Recovering from her stretch, she fell in step with her brother as they made their way back. "Hey, hey! Do you think we can get another of those honey teas?"

Kiriko just let out a laugh at his sister's antics. "Sure, we'll get some more. We can even get some of that cake that one cafe had on display."

"Oh, I want the one with the strawberries!" Leafa declared with a skip in her step, causing her brother to laugh again.

"Come on! Last to the gate pays!" The raven haired girl declared, shooting forward it a run.

"Hey!" The blonde cried in surprise, quickly picking up her pace. "No fair!"

o0O0o

"Nii-chan is a cheating meanie!" Leafa declared before she stuck her tongue out at said sibling. "But I still won! Nyeh!"

"Yeah, yeah." Kiriko waved it off as he sat down at the table outside the rustic cafe. He didn't say it but he had intended to let her win anyways but running felt really weird in this body. At some point, his sister passed him and just kept increasing the gap. He also didn't expect the exhaustion system to become more 'real' after the change.

"Welcome! What can I get for you ladies?" An aging man greeted as he wandered over to them, his brown hair streaked with grey lines.

Kiriko didn't bother correcting the NPC, instead holding up two fingers. "Could we have two honey teas and two slices of cake, the one with the red berries on top?"

"It would be my pleasure." The man smiled at him with a nod. "Would you like anything else, Miss?"

"No, thank you." Kiriko shook his head with a smile.

"Then, I'll return in just a moment." He nodded again before stepping inside the building.

Kiriko turned back towards his sister only to blink at the scrutinizing look he was receiving. "What?"

"He called us 'ladies' and you 'Miss'... and you didn't correct him." Leafa commented, her thin eyebrows pinched together.

Her brother just shrugged. "What's the point? I'm not going to tell everyone I'm really a guy, it's not worth the trouble, especially not to a NPC."

"You said that term before, the 'NPC' one. What does it mean?" The blonde girl asked, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table and and her chin on top of her folded hands.

"Non-Player Character." Kiriko answered, leaning back in his wooden seat. "Basically, it's a term for any non-hostile being that's controlled by the computer, like the guards and shopkeepers. They're not a player character, like you and me, but they're not hostile like Mobs."

"Be he seems so alive." Leafa stated, glancing towards the cafe entrance.

That's what was worrying the cross-playing boy. He held back from commenting on it as the old man came back out with a small tray, a pair of steaming cups and berry covered confections carried atop it.

"Here you are, ladies. Two honey teas and olive-berry cakes, as requested." The gentleman stated, placing a tea and cake before each guest.

"It looks so cute!" Leafa gushed, looking at the slice of cake and the decorations.

"I assure you, it tastes better than it appears." The shopkeeper stated with a wide smile. "Please, enjoy yourselves and let me know when you're finished."

"Thank you, Ojii-san!" Leafa cried with a sunny smile, causing the older man smile as well before heading back inside. In relatively privacy once more, what with them being open to the street, they each tried out the cake using the provided forks. "So tasty!"

Kiriko had to admit it was really good, the way the taste of the sweetly tart berries mingled with the thin vanilla frosting and pastry. A drink of the sweet tea helped wash it down. "It is good!"

"I'm going to tell Mom about this and see if we can't make it ourselves." Leafa stated after savoring another bite.

"Careful, too much cake outside of the game will make you fat." Her brother teased, pointing his fork towards her.

"That's it! I'll just eat as much as I want in here and never gain a kilogram!" Leafa crowed, stabbing what remained of her cake to take another bite.

Kiriko could only laugh at his sister's declaration.

"Oh, hey! I thought I recognized that voice!" A man exclaimed nearby, drawing their gaze towards an approaching Klein. "Hey, how's it going?"

"We're doing okay." Kiriko answered as his sister waved, gesturing towards the mostly consumed sweets. "We just got back from hunting boars outside the city."

"Really? How was it?"

"It was fun." Leafa answered with a smile. "Just don't get hit and it's really easy."

"Don't get hit." The red haired man repeated with a serious air. "I think I can remember that."

"Hey, Klein, you forget about us or something?" An amused male's voice cut in, causing Klein to startle.

"Yeah, he forgot about us." Another man's voice commented with a chuckle.

Kiriko peered around the cringing Klein and saw a small group of other men, all in different colors of starting gear. Of the five of them, only two really stood out, the short guy wearing a bandana like a pirate and the thin one with an afro. The other three just didn't stand out much.

The guy with the bandana let out a hopeless shrug. "Man, I hope they don't have sirens or nymphs in this game or he'll be trying to talk them up instead of fight them."

"Ah, come on, guys!" Klein complained, running a hand down his face. "It ain't like that!"

"It looks exactly like that." The guy with long spiky hair, like a hedgehog, grinned.

"Are these the friends you were looking for, Klein-san?" Leafa wondered, trying to figure out what was going on. Since her brother was staying silent, she decided to ask the embarrassed redhead herself.

"Yeah." Klein nodded, waving a hand towards the amused gathered men. "At least the ones that were online when… well, you know."

"So, you going to introduce us or just talk about us like we're not here?" The one with the afro asked with a grin.

"I was getting to it!" Klein yelled at him, not diminishing the man's grin at all.

"Was that going to be today or tomorrow?" The most average of them asked in turn. Really, it's like the man had set out to make the blandest looking character he could and succeeded.

Klein let out a beleaguered sigh that set Leafa laughing and even drew a grin from Kiriko. "Fine! Kiriko, Leafa… these bunch of jokers are the guys I was looking for. I'd use the term 'friends' but that'd be stretching the meaning of the word right now." The redhead using dramatic finger quotes.

"Oh! My heart! It's been torn asunder!"

"Klein-kun doesn't love us anymore!"

Klein just presented the group with an expression that read 'see what I have to put up with' written all over it, setting the blonde girl off again. "Anyways… That's Dale, Dynamm, Harry, Issin and Kuni." Klein named each one in order from right to left before waving a hand to the two seated siblings. "Guys, these are the two I told you about, the ones that taught me the stuff I told you about once we got together. That's Kiriko and her little sister Leafa."

They shared a round of greetings, waves and nods before Kiriko finally spoke up. "So, are you all going out to hunt mobs?"

"Yeah, we practiced that Art you showed me for a while and we're getting bored." Klein nodded, jerking a thumb over his shoulder towards his friends. "We figure, there's enough of us to take out anything in the newbie zone."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have any problems with the boars." The raven haired girl agreed but shook her head. "I think you have too many people in your party, though. You're probably better off going out to the river camp and hunting there. The mobs are harder but will give you better experience and drops."

"Oh, Nee-chan sounds like she knows her stuff!" Dynamm, the pirate looking man mused, grinning towards his friend. "Maybe we should follow you instead of him."

"She was in the Beta! How am I supposed to compare to that!" Klein complained, punching his friend in the arm.

"So, is there anything we should be wary of?" Harry asked, rubbing his chin.

"Just be on the lookout for adds. The wolves will call allies if you let them." Kiriko cautioned. "Stick together and fight them one or two at a time and you'll be okay. Oh, and buy some travel food before you leave. All they have out there is a camp stew that tastes horrible." He added as a final warning. "Maybe some sleeping bags, too."

"Hey, thanks for… you know, for all the help and everything." Klein rubbed the back of his neck before nodding to himself. Turning his head, he called out to the old man watching the conversation. "Hey, Ojii-san! How much to cover their order?"

The shopkeeper blinked in surprise. "Oh, it comes out to fifty-eight col." He quirked an eyebrow. "Will you be paying for these ladies?"

"Yeah, they helped me out, so I owe them big." Klein answered, starting to summon the money.

"Klein, you don't have to-"

"I owe you, okay. This is the least I can do, especially with you helping us just now." He cut him off, handing the coins over to the shopkeep.

"Thank you very much, Klein-san!" Leafa stood and bowed to the man, making him rub the back of his neck again.

With that, Klein's group said their farewells, with a promise to let Kiriko know if anything had changed once they went out there the following day.

"They seemed nice." Leafa said, as the quiet encroached on their table once more.

Her brother just nodded in agreement before glancing up to the darkening sky. The sun had hidden itself behind the buildings and he noticed the street lamps lit up. Open his menu, Kiriko let out a sigh.

He looked up as he heard a fork clink lightly against a plate, his sister looking forlornly at the last bit of cake. He let out another sigh, knowing she knew what he was going to say before he said it. "Sugu… we should go find a room for the night."

"Okay…" A subdued little sister answered, eliciting yet another sigh from the cross-playing young man.

oO0Oo

"I'm sorry, I'm out of double bed rooms." The innkeeper apologise, rubbing his fat forehead with a kerchief. "In fact, I only have one single-bed room left. It's a queen size, though." He offered instead.

The raven haired girl let out a tired breath. This was the fourth inn they'd been to and this was the first one with an open room. "Okay." She accepted with a nod. "How much is it?"

"Normally it's a hundred fifty but, for your trouble, you can have it for one-twenty-five." He stated, quickly counting the coins Kiriko dropped onto the counter. Handing over a key, the innkeeper waved a meaty hand towards the stairs next to the counter. "Your room is three-oh-nine, Miss. Breakfast is served at six."

"Thanks." He picked up the key and reached out to grab his sister's hand. "Come on, Sugu."

Gently, Kiriko guided his morose sister up the stairs and down the hall towards their room. Once there, he used the key provided to unlock and enter the room, finding a simple but clean bedroom, like one he'd expect to find in a budget hotel.

A queen bed with a dark blue down comforter and pillows took up the majority of the room, flanked by nightstands with lamps on them. A single window on the far wall showed only the darkness of night outside, the streetlamps below too far away to provide much light. An open doorway led to a cramped room with a small shower, toilet and sink.

All in all, he was surprised it was as furnished as it was, considering he only used rooms like this to log out during the beta. If anything, Kiriko was happy the developers went through all the effort, now that Aincrad was a real living place.

"Come on, Sugu. Let's get ready for bed." He said, emotions roiling in his gut but without the energy to express them. Closing the door behind them, the room was flooded with darkness, only the dim glow filtering through the window allowing the semblance of where things were. "Here, you have this side, I'll take the other."

Feeling his way around the bed, he realised he'd need to disrobe before sleeping. A small part of his mind cheered that this was every red-blooded young man's dream but he was just too drained emotionally to care.

Letting out a sigh, Kiriko pulled the sword strap off his back, immediately feeling the lack of pressure down the middle of his chest. He paused, trying to think of what was next before kicking off his shoes into the corner of the room before removing the light blue vest.

He was mildly surprised that what he originally thought was a dress was actually a shirt and skirt. Both were removed without any further confusion, leaving him to sit on the edge of the bed and finish with the socks on his feet. He decided against removing the underclothes still on his body.

All things considered, he was happy the room was almost pitch black. It prevented him from seeing things he really didn't need to see at the moment.

Letting out a sigh, he stood for just long enough to pull back the comforter and slip under it

Then, there was silence. Sure, he could hear his sister breathing and his own heartbeat in his ears but… nothing else.

So, he lay there. In the dark. In a body that wasn't his. In a world that he knew but didn't.

And all he could do is let out a haggard breath as it all hit him where he had no distractions.

"Nii-chan…"

He heard his sister whimper and he held an arm out. "Come on."

Sheets rustled as Suguha slid over and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she laid her head to his breast and cried. Kazuto said nothing as tears silently rolled down his own cheeks, holding his sister as much for his comfort as for hers.

Eventually, the night slowly claimed both Kirigaya siblings with merciful dreamless sleep.

o0O0o

07 Nov 2022 - Day 1

The morning passed in a numb, featureless fugue for the younger sibling.

Being guided into the bathroom and to shower at her brother's insistence.

Being guided to dress in the now clean clothes this body was born in.

Being guided downstairs by her brother's now much too dainty hand, seated at a table and having food placed before her to eat.

Being guided into the early morning sunlight and down the streets and alleys of a town she didn't know to a place she didn't care about.

Being guided from forgettable person to forgettable person, her brother saying things that didn't register and sometimes guiding her hand through her menu.

Being guided towards…

Leafa blinked her forest green eyes, seeing the gates leading out of the Town of Beginnings loom before her. Her brother's soft hand holding hers as he calmly but resolutely walked towards it, his single dark ponytail waving across his back with each stride, guiding her in his wake.

"Nii-chan?"

Kiriko glanced back and his lips tweaked up with a small smile. "Morning, Sugu."

"Nii-chan... what's going on?" The blonde young woman asked, still looking at the looming gates and milling guardsmen in their metal armor.

"We're going to beat the game."

Leafa's breath hitched and her feet ground to a stop, her hand slipping from her brother's, as she realization hit her like a bucket of ice water dumped on her.

He wasn't giving her an explanation.

Kazuto was making a declaration!

For a split moment, Suguha saw her brother for what he truly was, a young man who's entirety was filled with determination. A blink later and he was back to the raven-haired beauty, she'd crafted for him to wear as a prank.

Kazuto's feminine face held the same determination to win in it's bright steely blue eyes.

Leafa felt her heart buoyed with his strength and she smiled with a sharp nod, reaching out to grasp the still extended hand. "To beat the game!"

Making their way outside the grand walls that surrounded the city, they found the fields and farms the comprised the beginner's area bask in the sun's light once more.

"So, are we fighting boars again?"

Leafa blinked as Kiriko shook his head and pointed into the distance, where the trees formed a deep forest. "We need to grow stronger, faster. With my experience and your kendo, we can fight stronger mobs." He clenched his pointing hand into a fist. "We also need to train our skills."

"Skills?" Leafa asked, moving up to walk beside her brother and letting go of his hand.

Kiriko nodded swiping open his menu and flipping to the Skill window. Instead of just having 'One Handed Sword', it had 'Sprinting' with a second line under it.

"You have it, too. I equipped it for you earlier." He said, forgoing the need for her to check her menu. "It allows you to run faster and longer, the more skill points you have in it."

"So we're running... where?"

"Horunka Village." Kiriko answered before kicking up into a light jog. "It's pretty far from the Town of Beginnings but that'll work in our favor since not many players will know about it. We'll basically live out of there until we're strong enough to fight the floor boss and continue from there."

Her brother drew his sword, now strapped to his back by two horizontal leather bands that ran above and below his chest, and struck down a nearby boar with a Horizontal on the run.

Once Leafa caught up to him, she stared at him with wide eyes. "How did you do that!?"

He just smirked over at her. "I'll show you on the way! In fact, the one to kill the least mobs like that before we reach Horunka has to pay for dinner and the inn!"

"That one doesn't count, then! Not till you show me how to do it!" The blonde girl declared, drawing her own short sword in preparation.

"Alright! Alright!." Kiriko acquiesced with a cheerful laugh. "First, you hold it like this…"

o0O0o

"Ung… My feet hurt…" Leafa whined, rubbing her sore appendages as they stopped for lunch. She sent a light glare at her brother, who was laying on the grass in the shade of a tree, a calm smile on his lips.

He was also four kills ahead of her.

"Stupid Nii-chan and his stupid cheating." She pouted, crossing her arms under her breasts and puffing out her cheeks.

Kiriko just cracked an eye to look at his sister and grinned. "We're only a couple hours out, Sugu. You're running out of time."

"Meanie!"

Kiriko just grinned even wider as Leafa stuck her tongue out at him.

All things considered, they were making great time and had managed to reach level two already. He'd already guided his sister through spending the three attribute points and what each one did; Strength for damage increase, Agility for Arts recovery, Constitution for damage mitigation.

There was also the factor that weapons and armor had specific minimum stat requirements, too. You couldn't even equip a two handed great-axe if you didn't have enough points in strength, for example. You couldn't equip plate armor without enough constitution, either.

Thankfully, he didn't need to spend many points in Constitution for his build, focusing more on light armor that allowed him to not be hit as his favored version of damage mitigation. This left him able to spend his points into Strength and Agility.

Hit hard, recover fast and dodge everything the enemy throws at you.

It worked well enough for him all the way up till the end of the Beta, so why not stick with a winning play?

His sister thought so, too.

The whispers of a sword unsheathing snapped his eyes open, with the sound an Arts being used occuring he even pushed himself up to sitting. The shattering sound of a mob dying broke as he watched Leafa flourish her short sword and resheath it.

She turned to smirk at him. "Down three."

Letting out a chuckle of amusement, Kiriko nodded in acceptance. "Up three."

o0O0o

"Darn it!" Leafa stamped a foot into the hard packed dirt.

Kiriko just smirked at his taller younger sister. "Up one."

"Nii-chan cheated… somehow." The blonde griped, crossing her arms petulantly.

"Still up one!" The raven haired girl replied in a sing-song voice, a wide smile on his lips.

"Fine! You win!" Leafa conceded with a stuck out tongue, only to squawk when her brother snatched it between his fingers. "Leth ho!" Face cherry red when he let go, she stamped her foot once more. "Meanie!"

Kiriko snickered and strode into the small village, feeling the villager's eyes on them. It was a little odd, because he never felt that during the Beta but chalked it up to a post-Change change.

He really needed to think up a better name for the Change…

"So what's first?"

He glanced towards his sister before pointed towards a cottage that had more smoke coming from it than the others. "We stop by the blacksmith and have him treat our swords." He drew his and tapped it to get the item menu to open. "See, the durability stat is decreased, so we should get it topped up before we start hunting again. This blacksmith can also give a temporary damage buff by sharpening them."

"Okay." Leafa accepted the reasoning as they made their way to the structure, the sound of hammering on metal becoming clearer as they drew near.

When they arrived, they found a bald middle aged man hammering on what looked like a cherry red ingot of iron. As they watched him shape the metal, his muscles ripping with every blow, they slowly saw it take shape as a hoe blade.

Eventually, the blacksmith dunked the shaped metal into a bucket, a boiling sound bubbling out before fading away. "Since you've stood there for this long, your either staring at my good looks or looking for a blacksmith." His low bass voice rolled out as he turned towards the Adventurers, revealing his burned face that held a half-grin. "And considering things, I'm gonna say you're here for the latter."

Kiriko nodded, having dealt with the self deprecating blacksmith near the start of the Beta. "We need you to repair the durability of our swords."

"Ah, Adventurers." He frowned, scratching the stubble on his chin. "Can't say I've worked with weapons for a long while…"

Instead of answering, Kiriko drew her sword and held it out to the man. "We can pay."

His eyes narrowed as he reached out and plucked the weapon from the girl's hands. Running a gaze over the blade, he grunted. "A hundred col and you'll get it back tomorrow morning."

Steely blue eyes narrowed at the demand. "Seventy-five."

His eyes flicked from the blade to the customer before him. "Ninety-five."

"A hundred sixty-five and you sharpen both blades."

The blacksmith stared at the girl before him and snorted in amusement when she didn't back down. "It's a deal, Little Missy." He declared as he took Leafa's offered sword as well. "You can get them back at sun-up tomorrow."

"Right. Thanks." Kiriko gave him a nod, dropping the coins onto the counter between them.

Leafa flicked her gaze between her brother and the man who took their swords, turning to follow Kiriko as he walked away weaponless. "Nii-chan… what was that?!"

"He was overcharging us." Kiriko whispered, sending a look towards his sister. "He didn't charge that much in the Beta."

"Oh…" The blonde thought about things before cocking her head. "Why didn't we do that back in the city?"

"We were supposed to." Kiriko acknowledged with a shrug. "That's part of the reason we started with so much money. We either find out our swords aren't full durability if we examine our equipment or when it runs out of durability fighting easy mobs that can't chase us if we run away." He shrugged once more. "There's also the fact that with the change, the blacksmiths in the city are probably all swamped with repair orders from other players, right now."

"So, by having them repaired here, it's cheaper and quicker?" Leafa guessed.

Kiriko smiled at her. "Exactly. Now, onto the next task."

"And that is?" Leafa quirked an eyebrow in curiosity.

"The Secret Medicine quest." Kiriko gestured towards the sole two story building in the village. "The reward is a sword upgrade that will last a few floors and fighting the mobs needed to complete the quest will be good money and experience."

"So, we're getting new swords?"

Kiriko let out a sigh.

"So… we're not getting new swords?" Leafa shot a confused look at her brother.

"I don't know." He shrugged and stopped outside the building. "In the Beta, any number of people could complete the quest because it was a game and the swords weren't real."

"But if the game is real, then there might only be one sword to give out?" The blonde girl guessed, getting a nod from her companion. "Well, if there's only one, then when we complete the quest, you take it."

"Good." A stern woman's voice broke into the conversation, startling the siblings who jerked towards it to find a woman around their mother's age standing inside the open window, her arms crossed as she stared out at them. "Because it's not like Grandfather had an armory in the cellar."

In the shocked silence that followed, the Adventurers could hear a young child kick up a coughing fit somewhere inside, followed by a mewling moan. "Mama… it hurts..."

Leafa recovered from the surprise first, worrying her lower lip as she glanced between the woman and her brother.

The middle aged woman let out a beleaguered breath, turning her head. "I'll coming, sweetie!" Focusing once more on the young women outside her window, the woman gestured towards the door. "You might as well come inside. This isn't something to discuss through a window, like gossiping hens."

The blonde bowed deeply to the woman in embarrassment. "We're sorry for the trouble!"

The woman just pulled strands of brown hair that had broken loose from her bun behind an ear. "You're here responding to the request. That's good enough."

Kiriko nodded, still finding himself shaken but moving to enter the house, his sister following along. Inside, he found the same interior he expected, barring the addition of a few more momentos and decorations that weren't there in the Beta. The woman waved towards a pair of worn but still sturdy chairs, Kiriko taking a moment to politely smooth his skirt like Sugu had instructed him to do when sitting.

The mother, worry on her face as the child started coughing once more, passed the siblings mugs of cool water. "Thank you."

"It's not much, but you're welcome." The woman replied to the blonde before making herself busy at a small bubbling cauldron. "I'm sure you'd not like any of this. For everything the medicine does for sickness, it tastes like you licked a wet sheep."

The matter of fact way the woman described the taste had Kiriko snort just as she was taking a sip, causing him to gag and cough. Combined, Leafa couldn't contain a small giggle as the woman made her way upstairs.

Recovering quickly, Leafa flicked her green irises towards the stairs. "Nii-chan… this is…"

Her brother nodded at the implied statement, taking a sip of his water. "I keep thinking of them as just NPCs and they're acting more like real people now." He took another sip of the clear liquid in thought. "I wonder if it's because of improvements after the Beta or-"

"Does it matter?" Leafa's whisper cut through his own, looking towards her sibling but flicking her eyes up towards the calming coughs of a sick child.

"Maybe…" Kiriko hedged, feeling the slightly uneven surface of the mug held in his thin fingers, taking a deep breath. "It raises a lot of questions, like what would have happened if no one came to do this quest?"

"Then my child would die." The mother's tired voice answered for him as she stepped off the stairs and sat down on another worn chair surrounding the equally aged table. "It's already been over half a year… Half a year since I sent the request for aid to the capital and… nothing." She reached up to rub tired eyes. "I don't know why you decided to arrive now after all this time but if you want Grandfather's blade in trade for my child's life, so be it."

The black haired mercenary grimaced while her companion stared at her hands in shame. "What do you need done?" He thought he knew but with everything changing...

"I've been able to stave off the illness with the herbs and roots I grow in the garden but I'm running out of time." The woman gestured towards the cauldron. "To cure it, I need the berries from a flowering Nepenthes. Just a hand-full, really."

"Do you know where we can find these… monsters?" The blonde girl asked hesitantly, not sure if she could say the name correctly.

The woman waved in a seemingly random direction. "Somewhere in the woods. Thomas, the village hunter, could tell you more. He'll be found in the tavern at night, the lush. Tell him 'Beth' sent you and maybe the fool will stay out of his cups long enough to help you."

o0O0o

The two Kirigaya siblings found themselves sitting on a bench placed underneath a shade tree near the center of the village. They both had thoughts concerning their encounter with Beth flowing through their heads.

"Do… do you think Beth's child would really die?" Leafa asked, glancing over at the tallest building in the village.

"I don't know." Kiriko said in turn, once more saying a string of words that had begun gnawing at his ego. "The way they programmed it, you weren't able to see her child. The door was locked to players and the window's curtains were always closed. Even when she entered the room, you couldn't enter with her or see anything inside other than a dresser before she closed the door behind her." Kiriko shook his head at the one player who made it his mission to see if there was actually a sick child or just a sound effect. "Even when you gathered the quest items and turned it in, she would just add it to the 'medicine pot' and continue stirring it, while a game window would announce the quest complete and award you the Annealed Blade."

"But now that everything's real, her child could die…" Leafa whispered out, a heavy feeling in her chest.

Her brother just nodded, agreeing with that thought.

"Nii-chan, what are those monsters we're supposed to be fighting?"

Kiriko leaned back and pursed his lips in thought, trying to think of everything he could about the quest and what else might have changed. "When I did it before, they were big plant monsters that would disguise themselves as normal plants before ambushing you. They weren't too hard to kill but sometimes they'd gang up on you, so I had to be careful soloing them. The biggest issue was the fact that the one with the quest item was a rare spawn and it could take days before it appeared."

"Before you ask, I don't know if the spawn system is the same now, either." He shook his head, not remember seeing any boars respawn when they were hunting them yesterday in the beginner's fields. There always seemed to be more appearing after time passed, though… so, maybe it was working but differently?

Leafa closed her mouth with a frown at that. "So, what are we supposed to do now?"

Kiriko shrugged. "I guess we get a room at the inn, eat dinner and wait for this Thomas to show up."

"Okay." His sister agreed with the plan, looking around them. "Which one's the inn?"

"It's over here." Kiriko said, standing and helping her up with a hand. "Oh, and 'up one'."

Leafa rolled her eyes and followed her annoying brother. Some food right about now sounded amazing.

o0O0o

"Welcome, travelers!" A thin elderly man greeted them, his mustache almost completely covering his mouth. "How can I help you?"

Feeling her brother push her forward slightly, she gave him a quick glare before smiling at the old man. "Hello. I'm Leafa and this is my sister, Kiriko. We'd like a room and a hot meal."

"Meshack and it's a pleasure to host a pair of lovely young ladies, such as yourselves." The grandfatherly old man continued to smile as he turned to pull out a binder from the bookcase behind him. "If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to our fair village?"

"We're here to help Beth find a cure for her child." The blonde explained, blinking as Meshack's eyebrows raised up in surprise. "Actually, she told us that hunter named Thomas comes here and might help us with finding it."

Behind her, Kiriko just stood silently, observing the situation that his sister had in control.

"Well, if you're helping Beth out, I'll give you a good discount!" Meshack declared. "I probably wouldn't be here still if it wasn't for her medicinal talents and it's a damn shame what happened to her boy."

"I really appreciate it but isn't that a little too much?" Leafa demurred, opening her menu and flipping to her inventory, oblivious to the curious look coming from the innkeeper. "Besides, on the way here, I managed to hunt some boars and received some good quality meats. How about I trade them for room and board?"

"I'd have to ask where you're hiding them, young lady, in addition to how much you're offering." The old man raised a skeptical eyebrow, looking at the fact she had no packs to hide said tradegoods in.

"Is this enough?" The blonde typed something and a large pile of wrapped pork tumbled onto the counter from midair, shocking the old man into stumbling back into the bookcase.

"My word! You're Adventurers!" He exclaimed, clutching his chest as he stared at the young women before him.

"I hope that's not a problem." Kiriko spoke out for the first time to the old man.

"Problem? Oh, no problem at all! Just a surprise, is all." Meshack took a breath to steady himself. "A few seasons ago, your kind were such a help to our small village but then… your lot just disappeared like you came."

"Well, we're back and there's more of us this time." The raven-haired Adventurer informed him.

"So, about that offer?" Leafa gave the innkeeper a sunny smile.

"How long did you say you'd be staying?"

Leafa looked towards her brother, who answered. "A few days, probably. It depends on how difficult getting that cure is."

"Alright, young lady, you have yourself a deal. All these for three nights room and board!" Meshack declared with finality.

"Wait! That wasn't the deal at all!" Leafa cried out in surprise.

o0O0o

"Nii-chan, what just happened?" The blonde girl gave her brother a confused look before glancing at the big bowl of stew and hot cider on the table before her.

Her brother just chuckled smugly as he leaned back, his own hot mug of cider between his hands. "Imouto tried to welch on the bet and traded way too much instead. You could have gotten five nights for what you gave him."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Leafa demanded, jabbing an accusatory finger at her still grinning sibling.

Kiriko just gave a helpless shrug, taking a sip of cider. "When could I have?"

"Stupid, Nii-chan…" Leafa sulked, eating a spoonful of potbelly stew. It was salty. Her brother just chuckled, finally leaning forward to partake of his own stew and letting out an appreciative hum.

A minute or so later, Kiriko heard a message ping. Quirking an eyebrow, he opened his menu and the message, soon letting out an amused chuckle.

"What was that?" His sister asked after drink of cider.

"It was Klein-san." He explained. "He said they got to the river camp we passed by on our way here and the camp-stew is still terrible."

Leafa hid a giggle behind her hand. "Maybe you should tell him to come here instead." Other than being a little salty, the stew was good. She blinked in surprise when her brother shook his head.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Sugu. They need to practice on the easier mobs near there before moving onto harder mobs."

"But we're here." Leafa pointed out.

"And I'm a Beta player so I know how these mobs act while you practiced kendo since you were nine." Kiriko countered with his own points. "I'll tell him about this place in a couple of days, once they've leveled a few times. At that point, these mobs shouldn't be too dangerous."

Leafa thought about it for a bit before her green eyes took a mischievous glint. "I think Nii-chan doesn't want Klein-san to see his Nee-chan again!"

Her brother coughed and spit out the cider he was halfway through drinking, Leafa having timed it perfectly. He sent an unamused look at the snickering blonde. "Sugu! Don't say things like that!"

"Oh, his poor heart, his feelings spurned by his Nee-chan." She feigned swooning at the drama.

"Ha ha." Kiriko dryly laughed, obviously unamused before taking a more thoughtful look. "Actually, that's something I've been thinking about."

Leafa jerked upright in shock. "Klein-san's feelings?!"

"What?! No!" Kiriko cried out her denial, crossing her arms in a big X before her. "Thinking like that is denied! I was talking about the 'Nee-chan' thing." Leafa continued to give him an odd look. "Not Klein-san's! Yours!

"What do you mean, Nii-chan?" The blonde asked in confusion, scrunching her nose cutely.

"That! That's what I'm talking about." Her brother pointed at her with a finger. "I'm wondering if you should start calling me 'Nee-chan' to keep the secret longer."

Leafa blinked in surprise. "But… but I thought you said that was 'denied'..."

"Yeah, well…" Her brother scratched at his cheek. "That was before… when I thought I'd be changing avatars the next day." He waved a hand through the air in a small circle. "Right now, I'd rather keep everyone thinking I'm just your big sister and not wondering why you keep calling me 'Nii-chan' all the time. The fewer questions, the better."

"That's just silly, you can' be my big sister." Leafa declared, getting her brother to quirk an eyebrow in curiosity. "Because I'm the 'big' sister!" The blonde crowed, thrusting her chest up and out.

Kiriko just gave his sister a flat stare. "That's something I'm entirely fine with being the 'little' sister on." He tried but couldn't keep the small grin off his lips as Leafa nearly doubled over with laughter.

The sound of the front door opening drew his steely blue gaze, seeing a rough looking man push his way into the inn, a fox like animal slung over his shoulder.

"Hey, Pops! Start the stew, I've got the meat!" The brash man called out, dropping the carcass on the counter, adjusting his rough leather jacket with pride.

"You're late!" Meshack stated, a less than amused look for the loud man. "Besides, we've got meat for weeks thanks to that young lady over there."

"Sugu." Kiriko lightly warned his sister, tapping her leg with his foot. She sit up and looked over at the shocked looking man who looked like he could be their mother's age.

"Don't start any trouble, boy." The old innkeeper gave the man a look. "They're here to help Beth's boy."

The man jerked, as if slapped, before his gaze turned calculating. "They don't look like much, old man."

"They're Adventurers, Thomas, and they're here to help your nephew."

Kiriko narrowed his eyes at the final confirmation of who stood before them. Standing and smoothing his skirt, he looked up and held out a hand. "The name's Kiriko and I've got some questions you might have answers to."

"Yeah… yeah, I might." He shook the hand, raising an eyebrow at the strength the lithe looking girl had.

"This is my sister, Leafa." Her brother introduced as both he and Thomas sat down, the man drawing over a chair from another table. "Now, tell me what you know about Nepenthes."

"You can find them around and in the valley to the north-east. I stay away from it, normally." Thomas leaned back and grimaced. "I've tried hunting them but they just shrug off my arrows like they're nothing." He glanced at the two young women and quirked an eyebrow. "Don't think you're going to do much better without swords."

"They're with the blacksmith." The raven-haired girl waved the problem away. "We'll retrieve them and be headed out with the sunrise."

"Dropped them off with Grizwald, huh? He'll do them good." Thomas stated with an approving nod.

"Beth-san said we needed to find one with berries on it." Leafa spoke up, pointing towards the man. "Do you know how we can find ones like that?"

"Yeah… those." He grimaced and tapped the table with two gloved fingers. "You've got two ways of getting those berries; the slow and easy way or the quick and stupid way."

That had Kiriko curious. "Quick and stupid?"

"N-nee-chan…" His sister let out a warning tone.

"We need to learn everything we can about them or else we could get into trouble, Sugu." Kirito explained before turning back to the waiting Thomas. "Well?"

He snorted in amusement. "I like your style, girly. So, the quick and stupid way is to play on the fact that these monsters are out for blood. Sure, they can live off rain and sunlight like any other plant but they've got a craving for the good red stuff."

Thomas started talking with his hands, pantomiming his explanation. "See, all you've got to do is scare or lure a big enough animal close enough for them to pounce on it. They'll drain it dry and wa-lah, they're growing berries like it's harvest season."

"I'm hearing a 'but' here." Kirito dryly stated.

"And you'd be right, sister." The hunter agreed, pointing a finger at her. "See, you give them the good stuff and they grow the berries, sure. They also grow an extra meter and go berzerk. I was lucky to make it out of that mistake with my life!"

"N-nee-chan… please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking." Leafa gave her brother a flat look.

"I'm thinking we can use this as a last resort of we run out of time." Kiriko stated, not looking away from the hunter. "I'm guessing the slow and easy way is just hunting them carefully like normal and waiting for a rare one that has berries on it."

"Right again." Thomas shrugged. "Course, I haven't seen one like that but they've got to exist, right? We've dealt with illnesses like this in the past, so it's either that or we did the suicidal option and won more than we lost."

"Any more information?" The black haired Adventurer asked of the hunter.

Thomas rubbed his stubbled chin in thought. "Well, they hate fire but you'd probably ruin the cure if you tried that." He shrugged. "That's about it."

"Alright. Thanks for all the help." He nodded his head to the older man.

The hunter just shook his head as he stood up. "Nah, you got it backwards, missy. You're the ones that're helping us out, so thanks for that and good luck out there. I don't want to find either of your bodies on my next hunt, you hear?" With that said, the man left the inn, waving off the bottle the innkeeper tried to hand him.

"Nii-chan…" Suguha brought Kazuto's gaze back to her. "Do you really think I'm ready for this?"

Kazuto just smiled and reached over to ruffle his sister's hair, making her squawk indignantly. "Sugu, if I didn't think you were good enough already, we wouldn't be here. Just to be safe, though, we'll take it easy tomorrow and just feel things out. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky on the first day!"

"I think Nii-chan just jinxed us." Suguha stuck her tongue out at her brother, dodging his hand trying to grab it.

END OF CHAPTER 2

o0O0o

A/N

So, here's the second chapter. You'll notice I focus on speed than perfection in my writing, so please excuse any minor mistakes but feel free to point out any major ones you find.

Quick aside about the Transformation Potion; if Kazuto does find one, it's not going to be until the later floors, like 50+. Again, that's if he even finds one.

If you're wondering, this is the last of the 'Change' freakouts and we're moving more into the adventure second, though there is at least one more minor drama event coming up.

For anyone wondering, it took me around 8 hours to write and proofread this.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the story.


	3. Chapter 3

Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

09 Nob 2022 - Day 4

"This is your fault!" Leafa cried out, leaping into diving roll across the forest loam. She kicked out mid roll, her foot impacting a tree and allowing her to shift her dodge towards new direction. "Totally your fault!" She declared, as the tree was reduced to splinters, the giant daikon-like monster slamming it into and through it a split-second later.

"Fight now! Complain later!" Kiriko yelled back, taking advantage of the monster's moment of confusion to slice a Horizontal into its back, quickly shifting into a following Slant, an Art he'd gained only an hour or so ago.

The crazed Nepenthes let out a shriek of pain and rage from it's freakishly large human-like mouth.

Kiriko recovered from his Arts combination just in time to dodge a viney arm slamming down just where he was standing an instant before.

"Nii-chan!" Leafa called in support from the other side of the plant monster, the flash of her own sword skill doing even more damage and giving him a moment of breathing room as the monster turned towards the now evading girl.

The berserking Nepenthes was just below half health now, which was great, but it'd taken the two of them nearly ten minutes of frantic battle to get it down this far. Even their Arts just doing chip damage against the level boosted enemy.

It was a deadly game of tag; the monster touched you and you died.

They witnessed that fact just ten minutes ago.

Taking another breath, Kiriko shifted the grip on his short sword and charged back into the fray with a wordless scream of intent.

o0O0o

"Stupid… Nii-chan…" The blonde swordswoman managed to get out between deep gasps of air, the girl laying flat on her back, relishing the feeling of the cool loam below her.

Said brother continued to drink at the waterskin he'd pulled from his inventory, pulling it away with a gasp, having lost the battle with his body demanding air. He capped it and tossed what was left to the sweat-slick blonde who grunted as it landed on her stomach. "Drink up, Sugu."

Leafa let out a groan as she lazily groped for the offending object and brought it to her lips, drinking greedily a moment later.

Satisfied with his sister's condition, Kiriko glanced once more at the still open loot window, feeling a grim satisfaction at the 'Nepenthes Berries' listed along with a few Col.

Glancing over at his groaning sister, who'd now pushed herself up to sitting as she finished off the waterskin, he could see she had her own loot window, though it was too far away to read. "Did you get the berries, too?"

Leafa let out a gasp, pulling the drained skin from her lips before wiping her forehead clear of sweat before glancing over at the window. She scrunched her sunkissed eyebrows in confusion. "No. It says 'Unusual rocks'."

Kiriko also scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "That's odd…"

"Whatever." She dismissed the window with a wave of a hand. "All I want right now is a full tummy and a super long hot bath to relax in."

Kiriko pulled some sweat soaked hair from her forehead with a wistful smile. "I'll agree to that." He waited a moment before adding, "I can smell you from over here."

He let out laugh as Leafa squawked in indignation, throwing the empty skin at him but missing wide. "You're one to talk, 'Nee-chan'! You need one just as much as I do!"

The raven-haired girl's laughter died down to a chuckle, as he peeled the sticky fabrick away from his breasts, thankful the thin white shirt had the dark blue vest protecting his modesty. "Yeah, you're right." Pushing himself up to standing, he stretched his arms out, moaning as his shoulders pop with satisfaction.

Leafa let out a light snicker. "Nee-chan's a tomboy."

"Darn right!" He grinned down at the blonde girl before helping her up to stand with him. "Let's get back to town and turn this quest in."

"Right!" The blonde, tucked some hair behind an ear, taking one last glance where the giant plant monster had shattered into shards. "Hey, do you think that guy is okay?"

"I don't know."

Yet again, he was forced to say those three words as he thought about the player whose body had earlier shattered just like the monster had, though he could still hear the panicked screams that suddenly cut off with the player's death.

Kiriko still didn't know what had happened, the siblings hearing a panicked yell and rushing off to help whoever was in trouble.

They found another player trying to hold off the berserking monster, dodging frantically to avoid the vine like arms as they thrashed around.

Kiriko had rushed in and drawn the monster's attention off the beleaguered player, only to react with shock as the player told him off for trying to 'kill steal his quest mob', as the player struck the Nepenthes' open back with a Horizontal strike.

Leafa tried to tell the player that they were just trying to help but it was to no avail.

Whatever the reasoning, whether it was their distraction, the player's lack of still or just simple exhaustion, the two Kirigaya siblings could only watch as the player was struck down by a single blow of the enraged monster. At the time, neither of the surviving players had time to think on it, the monster rushing towards them.

Now… now the thought that it could have been either of them shattering into nothingness and about the player's fate rolled through their minds.

It was with a disquieting silence that they made their way back to the village of Horunka. Thankfully they avoided any further combat due to judicious usage of the new 'Sneak' skill they'd equipped into the new skillslot they unlocked only minutes before the chaotic fight happened.

Eventually, they trudged up to the two story house and knocked upon the door. The brown haired mother blinked in surprise at seeing the two haggard looking girls. "Oh my… Come in and take a seat! I'll get you two some drinks."

"Thanks, Beth-san." Kiriko said with a tired breath, sitting in the same chair he had just a couple days ago, Leafa flopping into hers with a pleased sigh.

"You girls look like you've been put through the ringer. What happened to you two?" The woman asked, handing over mugs of cool water to her guests.

"We found and defeated a flowering Nepenthes." Kiriko wearly said with a small smile on his lips. Digging through his inventory menu, a small pouch fell into his lap which he handed over to the shocked woman. "One handful of Nepenthes Berries."

"Oh my!" Beth held the small unassuming pouch carefully before moving over and pouring it out into a stone mortar. "This should be more than enough to make a cure!"

"Good… cause I just want to sleep for a week." Leafa stated, slumped in her chair, close to pouring the water over herself instead of drinking it.

The older woman opened and closed her mouth, the words caught in her throat as tears welled in her eyes. "You don't know how much this means to me. Thank you so much for saving my baby boy!"

"No problem." Kiriko awkwardly waved away the thanks before freezing at his sister's low growl. "Ah… okay, maybe there was a little problem."

The middle-aged woman raised an eyebrow but smiled nonetheless. Moving over to the fireplace, she reached up and carefully removed a sheathed sword from the mantle. "Well, you've filled your obligations. It's only right that I do the same."

Kiriko's steely blue gaze locked on the weapon, surprised he hadn't recognized it, most likely unconsciously thinking it was just a decoration instead of the original reason for accepting this quest.

"Grandfather's sword, the 'Annealed Blade'." Beth identified the weapon, looking at it in her hands. "He received this as a gift when he reached the rank of Captain in the guard. Now… now, it's yours."

The raven-haired girl reverently accepted the offered weapon, running a hand down the pitch black lacquered sheath. it felt like welcoming back an old friend. Looking up, he smiled at the woman. "Thank you."

"No, thank you. Thank you both!" She looked towards the still tired Leafa. "I wish I had something to give you as well, but…"

The blonde waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I'm just happy your son will be okay." Her eyebrows furrowed in worry. "He will be okay, right?"

"I believe so, now that I have these." She waved towards the berries waiting to be processed. "It'll take some time before he's fully recovered but you'd be surprised just how quickly this medicine works. The hardest part of it all is just obtaining it, which I see you understand now."

"Yes, we do." Leafa nodded before pushing herself out of the chair with a groan. "Now, if you'll excuse us, there's a long hot bath with my name on it."

Beth let out a laugh at the young woman's words, stepping forward to wrap her arms around both Adventurers. "Thank you both, so much! You're welcome back anytime!"

"Thanks…" Kiriko awkwardly replied, patting the woman's arm before stepping back once released. "Well, I think we should be going now."

The three said their goodbyes and the siblings made their way over to the inn.

"Well, you're back early today." Meshack mused, seeing the tired players walk through the door. "How did things go?"

"We got the berries and gave them to Beth." Kiriko stated with a small smile, feeling the slightly heavier blade on her back.

"That's fantastic!" The old innkeeper cheered and clapped his hands in celebration. He paused as the blonde girl stepped up and slapped her hands on the counter.

"Please, please, please tell me the bath's ready!" She pleaded, with desperate eyes.

Meshack let out a knowing chuckle. "The bath is full but I need to start the fire to heat it up. It should be warm by the time you finish washing, though."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She reached out and pumped his hand with each thanks, causing the elderly man to laugh.

Kiriko let out his own chuckle, shaking his head as he moved to sit down at a table. "I'll wait until you're done."

"Oh, no." Leafa snagged his arm and started dragging him to the bath. "After everything that's happened, you're washing my back and my hair!"

"W-wait, Sugu!" He balked, trying to resist his sister's strong grip but finding himself dragged along. "This isn't right!"

Leafa just gave him a smirk with a glint to her bright green eyes. "What's the matter, 'Nee-chan'? We're both girls, so it's okay. Right?"

Backed into the proverbial corner, the raven-haired girl let herself be dragged behind the insistent blonde, face burning a bright cherry red.

o0O0o

"So, how was your bath?" Meshack asked as he set down the plates of sauced ham and rice.

"It was amazing, Ojii-san!" Leafa brightly replied, looking much fresher than before. "Nee-chan liked it too!" She answered for her still blushing brother, grinning in his direction.

"That's good to hear." He gave them both a grandfatherly smile. "Just let me know if you need anything else, alright?"

"Actually," Kiriko spoke up, catching Meshack's attention, "I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"Did any other Adventurers come into town today?"

Meshack blinked at the question. "Well, yes. Two young men came in, asking about Beth's boy and the cure."

"Anything else?"

"Well, I told them what I overheard you talk with Thomas a couple of nights back. Something about the monsters making berries if they eat an animal." He shrugged. "Honestly, I was trying not to eavesdrop but I still heard some of your conversation. Why? I hope I didn't cause any trouble."

Leafa flicked her eyes to her brother as he waved away the man's concern. "No trouble, just curious. We met them in the woods on our way back with the cure. They said they were moving on since the problem was already handled, so I doubt they'll be back."

"That's odd…" Meshack rubbed his chin. "They already paid for their room."

Kiriko just shrugged. "I'm just letting you know."

"Well, thanks for that, then." Meshack gave her a nod. "Now, I'll leave you two ladies to enjoy your meal in peace."

Leafa waited for the innkeeper to reenter the kitchen before she turned a suspicious stare on her brother, watching him slicing at the ham. "What was all that? It was just one big lie."

"He doesn't need to know that, though." Kiriko stated, taking a bite of meat and chewing it. "Would you rather I told him that those players died because he didn't know to tell them the dangers?"

"Well… no." Leafa had to agree it was better overall to tell the white lie to the kind old innkeeper. Instead, she let the matter drop, starting to cut into her own meal. "So, 'Nee-chan', what are we doing next?"

Kiriko rolled his eyes at the tone his sister used but pointed towards her sword with the knife in his hand. "I've got an idea what those 'strange rocks' are, so we're going over to the blacksmith to make sure."

"Oh? And what do you think they are?" The blonde asked before popping a bit of meat in her mouth.

"SAO has a crafting mechanic, meaning players can become blacksmiths, tailors and other jobs to make equipment for themselves or other players." Her brother explained, talking with his fork as the pork at the end dropped sauce back onto the plate. "In this case, with it being rocks, it's probably has something to do with blacksmithing."

"So we're going to ask him to tell us with it is?"

"Pretty much." Kiriko answered with a shug. "It could be just some rocks, useful ore or even gems. Since we don't have the right skills, we won't know until we have them appraised."

Leafa nodded as her brother finally ate what was on his fork. "Did you have those skills in the Beta?"

He shook his head. "No. We only got up to level twenty-five or so, so I stuck to combat skills and just payed other players to repair or upgrade my equipment."

"Why not just use the… NPC blacksmiths?" Leafa didn't feel right using that term, now that they were actually alive now.

"Because at some point, players are just cheaper, faster and better than the NPC crafters." Kiriko answered with a shrug. "As it is right now, there are no player crafters as those skills aren't unlocked until the later floors. I couldn't tell you which one."

"Okay, so we ask him what these rocks are. What then, keep fighting those plant monsters?" His sister asked, taking a drink of water.

"Pretty much." He replied with a nod. "I'd like us to get a couple more levels and maybe some more rare drops like those rocks before heading up into the mountains to start fighting kobolds."

"Kobolds?" Leafa blinked at the new word.

"Yeah, they're the hardest mobs on this level, outside of bosses and special quest mobs." Kiriko explained. "They're also the same type of mob as the floor boss, so it's good practice on how to fight enemies that have their own weapons."

"So we're getting close to being able to fight the… floor boss, is it?" Leafa asked, continuing to eat and talk.

Kiriko grimaced and make a 'so-so' gesture with a hand. "Sort of… It'd take us months of grinding before we ever get strong enough to fight him by ourselves and even that's not really possible. When we fought him in the Beta, we had a full raid of forty players and less than half were alive at the end of it."

"Since we were all level nine for that run, I figure if we're level eleven or twelve, we should be good to go for a raid."

"Okay. How long do you think it will take to get that high?"

Kiriko leaned back and tapped his chin in thought. "Well, we're six now but that's also when the 'training wheels' come off and leveling speed starts dropping off." Saying that, he ran some numbers in his head, factoring in the fact that he wasn't solo this time through. "I'd say a couple weeks, maybe, depending on how much grinding we do each day. I'd say we're actually ahead of the powercurve, compared to other players but that'll shrink pretty quickly once everyone catches up."

He shrugged. "So, all we have to do is fight ro raise our levels and skills while trying to either get better gear or upgrade the gear we have." He cocked his head in thought. "Actually, since we're not in a rush anymore to find the cure, we can see if the blacksmith can upgrade our weapons." He gestured to the sword grip sticking over his shoulder. "Since I got the Annealed Blade, we'll focus on upgrading yours as much as possible instead."

"Well, I'm ready to go whenever you are." Leafa announced, gesturing to her empty plate.

"Sure, just give me a minute." He replied, focusing on finishing up himself.

o0O0o

"Welcome back, Missy." The muscled blacksmith called out as the pair arrived. "I heard what you did for Beth's son. Glad to see my work helped out."

"It did, thanks." The raven-haired one of the pair nodded in thanks. "We found something interesting, though, and figured you might be able to tell us what it is."

Leafa held out the unusual stones, placing the two rocks onto the counter.

Grizwald picked one of them up and gave it a once over before tapping it with a comically tiny hammer next to his ear. "What you've got there, Missy, is some iron ore. About average quality, nothing amazing." He placed it back down with a shrug. "Not enough to make an ingot, though."

"Could you upgrade my sword with it?" Leafa gestured to her short sword.

Grizwald rubbed a soot covered hand against his chin, probably making his face cleaner in comparison. "Probably not enough, but if it isn't I'll cover the difference for what you did for Beth."

"Thank you!" Leafa bowed deeply to the large man before presenting her weapon. "How much would I owe you?"

Grizwald flicked his dark eyes towards the blonde's companion. "Before you sic your attack sister on me, it's two hundred fifty; no more, no less. I'm gonna be focusing on this for the rest of the day if I do it."

"Two fifty." Said 'attack sister' repeated, dropping the required amount onto the counter with a grin.

"Alright." He nodded in acceptance, sliding the coins into a pouch before grabbing the sword and ore. "Come on back tomorrow and it'll be ready to go."

"Thank you, again!" Leafa flashed him a smile, which he waved off, already getting started on the reforging process.

When she received it back the next morning, it almost sung in her hand, and her smile almost lit the morning more than the sun itself.

o0O0o

13 Nov 2022 - Day 7

"Pleasure doing business with you!" The trader called as Kiriko left the small general store. Really, all he was doing was clearing out the junk loot from her inventory but he did buy a couple things, such as a sleeping bag and some other supplies they might need in the mountains, such as a light jacket and other spare clothing.

"Well, hey! Look who it is!" A familiar voice called out.

Looking over, Kiriko smiled and waved. "Hey, Klein-san! How are you?" He noticed the lack of the redhead's friends. "Where's your friends?"

"They're getting some food and relaxing, you know?" He jerked a thumb behind him, towards the inn. "Your sister said you were out here, so I'd figure I'd see how things were going without my buddies heckling me about it."

Kiriko snorted and shook his head, guessing that Klein hadn't told his friends about his crossplaying. "Had a bit of trouble with a quest mob but it worked out. Other than that, we've just been leveling for the past week."

"Really?" He looked the pseudo-girl over and noticed the new weapon. "Oh, is that the quest reward?"

"Yup." The raven-haired player replied with a grin, drawing the blade and showing the other player. Tapping the sword crossguard, a stat window popped up.

"The Annealed Blade, huh." Klein spent a moment to compare the stats with his sword. "Where can I get one of those?"

"It's one of a kind. Sorry." Kiriko shrugged apologetically, putting his weapon away. "It used to be a repeatable quest in the Beta but not after the Transition." He explained, deciding to use that as the name of the world changing event.

"Oh well." Klein shrugged it off before grinning, following Kiriko back towards the inn, where their companions were. "So, what's your level at? Me and the guys reached level six before we heard about this place from another player." He gave the shorter player another grin. "Seems like you were trying to keep this place a secret or something."

"Ah… sorry." Kiriko apologised, sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "I meant to send you a message but forgot."

"Eh, it's all good, man." Klein waved his hand.

"Anyways, Leafa and I reached level eight this morning." Kiriko stated, gesturing towards the store well behind them. "We're overleveled for this area now, so we were going to head into the mountains tomorrow."

"You think we should skip this place and move on too?" Klein asked, thinking about the pseudo-girl's suggestion on the first day.

"No, this place is fine for your level, you'll just have to split up into smaller groups." Kiriko stated, opening the door to the inn. "Besides, there's drops for weapon upgrades and-" He stopped dead in his tracks, Klein bumping into him. "Sugu! What are you doing!?"

"Nee-chan!" Leafa cried out happily, a wide grin on her lips and deep flush on her cheeks. She took another drink from the red liquid in her glass. "You really need to try this! It's so good!"

Kiriko, flicking his gaze from his sister towards the laughing men, slowly raised a hand to the sword sticking above his shoulder. "Are you guys getting my little sister drunk!?"

Behind him, Klein just palmed his face with a sigh as Leafa let out a cheerful "Kanpai!" and finished her glass.

o0O0o

Pulling the covers over the sleeping girl hugging a pillow, Kiriko stepped out of the room and closed the door with a quiet click.

A few feet away, Klein rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, man… I'm really sorry about that." He gestured to the now empty communal area of the inn. "Just so you don't try to go hunting them down, I chewed them out and told them to get lost. Okay?"

"I wasn't going to 'hunt them down', Klein." Kiriko let out a breath, moving over to a table and sitting down.

"Cool." Klein sat down across from her… him. "Anyways, I ask Dynamm what the hell he was thinking and it turns out your sister grabbed one of their drinks on accident and… well, she's a real lightweight." He looked back towards the room Leafa was sleeping in. "Just a few gulps and she was done."

"That doesn't make it any better." Kiriko gave him a steely glare. "We're underage!"

"Hey, I'm not saying you're wrong but I just wanted you to know what happened. Hell, if anyone tried to do something while she was like that, the guys'd have already beaten them into the ground. They like you two, for the help you've given us, so there's no way we'd let something happen to your sister or you." Klein stated, signaling to the innkeeper. "Besides, you're like, what? Sixteen, seventeen?"

Kiriko figured Klein was basing his guess off the age of his avatar and didn't feel like opening that can of worms. "Yeah. So?"

"So, having one or two drinks with friends around to watch your back isn't the end of the world." Klein said with a shrug. "Sometimes, you just gotta unwind after a long day's work. You know?" He grinned as he gestured towards the siblings room. "Course, that'd be half a drink for her."

"Maybe some other time." He politely declined the implied offer, slumping down with tired sigh.

The redhead chuckled, accepting the drink for himself and placing one in front of his companion. "Don't worry, it's just juice." Kiriro nodded in thanks, while Klein went on. "But when you want to try the real stuff, send me a message. Me and the guys will watch your back and keep any guys off you, no questions asked." He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "And we'll play wingman if a girl catches your eye, too."

Kiriko just froze, hand halfway to picking up his drink, in shock. "I… You… W-what?!"

The redhead burst out laughing, slapping the table. "Ah, man! The look on your face is priceless!"

"Ung!" The pseudo-girl hid his face with both hands, though that did nothing for the raging blush on his cheeks or Klein's laughter. "You're terrible!"

"Completely worth it!" Klein declared, his laughter bubbling down to a chuckle. "All joking aside, though, I was completely serious with my offer. You know, for when you decide you're ready to be a real man."

Kiriko's eyebrow twitched at the dig at his currently dubious masculinity.

After a few moments of silence between themselves, each enjoying their own drinks, the brunette grinned towards the redhead. "Hey, just so you know, there's a special event for the plant mobs around here."

"Yeah?" Klein looked at him in interest. "What's that?"

"Well, you lure an animal…

o0O0o

14 Aug 2022 - Day 8

"Ung…" Leafa groaned for the upteenth time that morning. "Nee-chan, how much more?"

"Just a little father, Sugu." Kiriko said, stepping up the rocky incline.

His little sister just groaned again. "You said that the last time." She whined pitifully."

"Maybe little sister will learn not to drink someone else's drinks." The elder sibling said, continuing the trek up the hill.

"Maybe Nee-chan will stop being a meanie." Leafa pouted but continued to follow behind her brother.

"Maybe." He smiled, finally reaching the top of the hill. "And here we are."

The view was amazing, allowing them to look out over the vastness of Aincrad's first floor, from the large Town of Beginnings to the Keep of Tolbana and the forests that surrounded Horunka Village. The vast plains, farmlands and rivers that connected the three settlements made a picturesque view, with the large mountain range that held the entrance to the stairway dungeon to their back.

"Finally!" His sister dramatically cried out, collapsing to lay on a relatively smooth boulder nearby.

"Just for a bit, Sugu. We still have a few hours until we get to the hunting cabin I told you about." Kiriko warned her, taking a seat on the edge of the same boulder.

"Slavedriver! Taskmaster! Meanie!" Leafa cried out in defiance before running out of steam and just laying with an arm over her eyes.

He just chuckled as a message alert went off in his ear. Pulling it up, he let out a darker chuckle as he read it.

"You little bastard! 'Just lure an animal near it, my ass!' Don't drag me into you dicking my friends over! Shit! Just be happy none of us bit it fighting that thing, you little… I'm gonna get you back for this, mark my words! You'll rue the day!"

Kiriko let out a grin as he pulled up the holographic keyboard. "Tell your buddies that's what they get for messing with my little sister. I'd say sorry you got caught in that but a 'real man' would stick by his friends in troubling times, right? XD"

It only took a few seconds for the reply to come. "You suck so much..."

He just shook his head, a grin on his lips, and closed the messenger to move to his inventory. Said inventory was stocked with food, drinks and other supplies for their stay in the mountains. It'd been good exercise, climbing the hills and he felt his muscles warm with a light burn to them.

Glancing over his shoulder, he let his sister take a short nap and sleep off the last bits of the hangover. She'd looked haggard when she woke up this morning, moving sluggishly and wincing at any loud sounds.

Sure, Kiriko had some sympathy for her, just a little, but she brought this on herself.

Looking over the landscape once more, he took a deep breath of fresh air and basked in the rays of sunlight coming from on high. Glancing to the side, he saw the large stairwell that connected the first and second floor, the giant stone column rising into the clouds and fading from sight. He still wondered how the sun could shine through the floors above but, just like in the Beta, chalked it up to it being a game design decision.

A minute later, his eyes narrowed as they caught something in the distance.

"Sugu, it's time to go." He nudged his sister with a hand.

"Nii-chan? What?"

"There's rain coming in. We need to get moving." He explained, standing up and stretching out his back.

"Okay." Leafa let out a yawn and stretched out as well. "How much farther?"

"A couple hours." He answered, holding out a hand to help her up.

They were making good time, so they should make it before…

o0O0o

The rain hit hard and fast, much quicker than he'd been expecting it to.

"Come on! Just a little farther!" He yelled over the howling winds the storm brought with it. "I can see it just ahead!" He shouted encouragement to his sister, reaching out his hand.

"I can't see anything!" She yelled back, grasping the offered appendage as she fought against the rain slick slate beneath her feet.

"Trust me!" He yelled back, pushing towards a destination only he could see through the darkness of the storm.

o0O0o

The thick wooden door cracked open just wide enough for a blonde and then brunette girl to slip through before slamming closed with the wind pressure.

The sounds of panting, rain and howling winds filled the dark cabin before one of them started fumbling around. "Where i-is it? C-come on…"

After a few moments, the fumbling ceased. "G-got it!"

A few sparks from a flint flashed through the pitch black, giving momentary views of hands and a lantern before the wick took to flame, lighting the room with a dim flickering glow.

Glancing towards his sister, Kiriko could see her drenched to the bone and shivering, rubbing her arms for any warmth she could get.

"G-get out of t-those w-while I get the fire s-started." He told her, moving towards the small stove and wood pile beside it.

"N-nee-c-chan should t-to." She replied, as she started disrobing.

"F-fire f-first!" His hands shook as he placed a few split logs and kindling into the stove and tried to light them with the flint. "C-come on… L-light!"

A few moments later, a spark took and he blew on the embers until a flame started. "F-finally!"

He turned to find Leafa drying off with a towel, causing him to jerk back around to the stove.

"It's your turn." His sister warned him.

"I-I'll wait!" He said through chattering teeth. He let out a squawk of surprise when freezing hands pulled his soaked skirt to the floor. "S-Sugu!"

"Nee-chan will catch a cold!" The blonde chastised her older sibling, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and yanking up, fully exposing him to the warmth of the growing fire.

"F-fine! I can do it myself!" He cried out, finishing the task of pulling off his clothes. A dry towel fell into his hands a moment before a second one started drying at his hair.

"If Nee-chan gets sick, who's going to look out for me?" Suguha softly asked into the dimly lit cabin, drying her brother's hair.

"Sugu…" Kazuto let out a sigh before letting out another yelp as Suguha snapped her bra across her back.

"Since when does Nee-chan have black underwear?" An amused tinge to her voice.

Kazuto's face felt warm and it wasn't because of the fire. "I-I bought spares!"

"Nee-chan went clothes shopping and didn't bring Sugu… Meanie." The annoyed girl snapped her older siblings bra band once more, eliciting another yelp.

"Sugu!" Her brother cried out in embarrassment, his face aflame as he resolutely kept his back turned. "I was just getting spare clothes!"

Suguha leaned in and put her lips to her brother's ear. "Maybe next time, Nee-chan will let Sugu sleep if she's feeling bad."

The whispered words made Kazuto freeze in shock at the realisation he'd just been played by his little sister.

"Good night." Her words, shook him out of his shock, looking over his shoulder to see her snuggled within her warm looking sleeping bag.

Running a hand through his still damp hair, he shook his head and chuckled at what had just happened. Pulling his own sleeping bag out of his inventory, he laid it beside his sister's and prepared to climb inside. "Good night, Sugu."

"Change your underwear or take it off." Suguha's voice ordered as she dropped her own outside her bag.

Kazuto just groaned in humiliation.

o0O0o

20 Nov 2022 - Day 14

"Hmm… Morning, Nee-chan." Suguha yawned, the soft fluffy bed feeling luxurious compared to the week of sleeping bags in the mountains. The only reason she woke was the shifting of her brother waking beside her.

"Morning, Sugu." Kazuto yawned as well, having his own trouble waking up. No matter his desire to drift back off to sleep, the call of nature would not be denied. Trying to get up, he found his arm trapped in his sister's arms. "Sugu, I need to go."

The blonde groaned and snuggled deeper into the downy covers but freed his arm after a moment, allowing him to slide out and handle his business, letting out a hiss as his feet touched the cold wood floor.

Answering mother nature, he came back out and cracked the curtains covering the window, wincing at the bright light flooding in.

"Ung… stop it…" His sister complained, flipping the covers over her head to protect her fragile sleep for a few minutes longer.

"Come on, Sugu. It's time to get up." Kiriko stated, sliding his shirt in.

"I don't wanna." The girl hid deeper in the bedding.

The raven-haired girl let out a sigh as he pulled up his skirt and secured it to his waist. "Five… Four…"

"Fine! I'm up!" Leafa announced, sending a glare at her brother.

"Then hurry up and get dressed. We need to head to Rekkie's smithy before it gets too busy." He directed the blonde while adjusting his vest to lay properly.

"Yes, Mom." The blonde rolled her eyes, ignoring her brother's disgruntled look. She hissed as her bare feet touched the wood floor.

"Oh, and the floor's cold." Kiriko smirked. "Watch out."

o0O0o

"This is what I wanted to avoid." Kiriko stated, crossing his arms with a frown as he waited in line with his sister.

"Don't blame me! You're the one that bought the room with the 'best bed'!" Leafa countered the implied guilt. "Besides, I thought you set an alarm!" Her brother turned her face away and muttered something, causing her to narrow her green eyes. "What was that, Onee-chan? I didn't quite catch it."

"I slept through it." The raven-haired girl muttered just loud enough for his little sister to hear.

"I rest my case, your honor." The blonde gave a sarcastic curtsey, smirking at her grumbling sibling.

"What about your alarm?" He asked with an accusatory tone.

She just smirked wider at him. "I never set one. I wanted to spend every second I could sleeping in that bed I could!" She narrowed her eyes at her raven-haired sibling. "And if you ever take me back to that shack, I'm burning it to the ground, am I understood?"

"You're not burning down the cabin, Sugu." Kiriko rolled his eyes at her declaration.

"Try to take me back there and find out." She dared him.

The two Kirigaya siblings stared at each other, waiting for the other to flinch first.

"Hey! Get a room, you two! You're holding up the line!" The guy behind them loudly declared, drawing eyes to the two girls with their faces almost touching.

Jerking away from each other with blushes on each of them, they moved forward, closing the gap that had formed in front of them.

o0O0o

"Welcome to Rekkie's, how can I help you?" The harried looking young man asked, wiping his forehead with a rag as another two clerks stood on either side of him helping their own customers.

"We dropped of our swords yesterday for repairs and upgrades. We're here to pick them up." Kiriko succinctly stated. "The names are under Kiriko and Leafa Kirigaya."

"Just a moment while I find them. Sorry for the inconvenience." The clerk said, as if following a script, before retreating into the back behind a curtain.

"What do you mean 'it failed'?!" The player to their right yelled out in shocked anger. "You said it wouldn't be an issue! Where's my sword!?"

"I'm extremely sorry, Mister Customer, but there's always a bit of risk when-" The young man apologized before the player slammed a fist onto the counter.

"Shut up!" He yelled pointing towards the back of the store. "I want to talk to the one who did it!"

"I'm afraid Rekkie-sensei is rather busy." The young man quickly held out a small coin pouch with a bow. "Please accept this recompense for the trouble we caused you!"

It looked like the player was about to punch the poor clerk for a moment before he snatched up the coin purse. "Fuck this and fuck this store! I'm telling my friends to avoid this place like the plague!"

The surrounding players watched the man storm off, pushing through the crowded market until he was quickly out of sight.

"Well… that was a thing." The next customer commented as he stepped up to the counter. "You okay, kid?"

"Not really but I'll live." The shaken clerk said before taking a breath. "Welcome-"

"Thank you for waiting!" The two Kirigaya girls looked towards their clerk as he came up and set two swords onto the counter. "Miss Kiriko, your arming sword. Miss Leafa, your short sword. I hope they meet your satisfaction."

The two players tapped their weapons, opening the status windows and verifying the work done to them. Kiriko's blade shown an enhancement pip and full durability. Leafa's shown three enhancement pips, though.

"Wait, where's the fourth enhancement?" She asked, pointing at her sword.

The clerk blinked and scrunched his brow. "I'm not sure. I'd have to look into it. My apologies for the inconvenience."

The two siblings shared a look as the young clerk went into the back once more.

"I'm not getting a good feeling about this place." Leafa commented, eyeing her sword and the missing upgrade.

"They are right that there's a risk of failure but two of them so close together like this… it's is odd." Kiriko agreed with the suspicious turn of events.

The clerk came back out a moment later and bowed to the two girls. "My apologies for the wait. Unfortunately, the upgrade failed and consumed the materials in the process. Your repairs fees are waived as compensation."

"Fine… it's better than losing it." The blonde accepted, sheathing the blade at her hip.

The clerk bowed to her once more before turning towards Kiriko. "For you, Miss, it comes to five hundred and seventy five Col." He accepted the coin pouch that she deposited onto the counter with a bow. "Thank you for your patronage!"

"Right." He simply said, sheathing her blade over her shoulder and turning away, Leafa keeping pace through the busy market street. "Next time, I think I'll make the trip to Grizwald."

"Yeah. This place is way too crowded for me." Leafa agreed, eyeing the players moving about, haggling with shopkeepers or yelling at each other.

"It'll get better once we unlock more floors. Once that happens, people like us will be on the newest floor and the rest will slowly spread out on the others." Kiriko stated from his experience in the Beta.

"How much longer? It's already been two weeks." Leafa asked, growing tired of the constant grinding without real tangible progress. "How long did it take before?"

"We were already looking to clear the third floor by now." He replied, pushing by a group of girls chatting with each other. "Of course, we didn't care about losses, either. What's the point of trying to save skill points when it'll all get wiped at the end of the month?"

"It's not that different now." Leafa pointed out, turning sideways to squeeze through a gap made by her brother. "People have been respawning in the Cathedral since the first day."

It'd been a relieved surprise when they heard that news given by another player exploring the mountains for a quest of some sort. Seems, once people started freaking out over the Transition, people started jumping off the edge of the tower to commit suicide, in the off chance they'd wake up in the real world.

Instead, they woke up sitting on a pew in the Cathedral, like they'd just fallen asleep during service.

"Well, at least we know they haven't changed the Labyrinth location." Kiriko stated, letting out a sigh of relief, having moved on to a less crowded street of Tolbana.

Leafa smiled at that. "So that means we're exploring that instead of going back to the cabin?"

"Yeah, we're done with the cabin. Feel free to rejoice." Her brother rolled his eyes at his sister's reaction.

"Bed! Every! Night! Wooo!" The blonde clapped her hands with each word before thrusting her arms skyward with cheer.

"You're acting out the blonde stereotype." Kiriko pointed out with a smirk, gesturing to the gawking players and NPCs.

Leafa just spun and planted her hands on her hips. "I don't even care! I get to sleep in beds again!" She swayed her hips in a small dance to her singing. "Never gonna sleep on the floor again! Who's got a bed? This girl!"

Kiriko held a straight face for a second before breaking out with laughter. Wiping at her tearing eyes, he snickered. "You do know there's entire floors without towns, right?"

The blonde stopped mid dance, her mouth dropping open. "No way! Tell me your joking!"

"I'm not, really. I mean, the tenth floor did have a town, technically, but it was the 'village of the dead' so just a bunch of zombies shuffling around a town of rotting buildings." He shrugged. "We didn't get to beat the Floor Boss, so we never got to see if the village came back to life or not."

"Okay… that's really creepy and I'm not staying there, like ever!" Leafa declared, poking her brother in the center of his chest.

"Yeah, I don't blame you. Most people just found a quiet place to log out and hoped no mobs wandered near them while they were logged off." Kiriko agreed with the sentiment.

"Alright, enough talk about creepy places! Let's head to the Labyrinth or something." The blonde offered up her suggestion.

"Sounds like a plan, Sugu."

o0O0o

22 Nov 2022 - Day 16

"Hmm… How about a right here." Leafa suggested, looking at her map.

Kiriko just shrugged, adjusting the way his sword sat on his shoulder, not caring either way. "Sure. If not, we'll just double back."

"Right." They headed down the dark stone passageways, their maps auto-updating with their position information.

They walked in relative calm for a bit before reaching another intersection, the blonde gesturing towards the left and receiving another shrugging nod in response.

"Look out!" Kiriko cried out, flashing his sword behind his sister, the clang of metal on metal ringing out off the walls.

"Darn rogues!" Leafa cursed, drawing her own sword and intercepting the other ambushing kobolds. She had to admit, fighting the kobolds in the mountains did help prepare her for these surprise attacks somewhat. "There's more of them coming!"

"Just fight through them! We've got the level advantage!" Kiriko called back, dispatching another kobold in a shatter of shards.

Trusting her brother's judgement, she danced with the deadly monsters, cutting them down one by one until the last shattered into nothingness, leaving the two girls breathing heavily in the now empty corridor. "Is that it?"

"Looks like it." Kiriko answered, sheathing his sword and picking up the fallen torch, waving it slightly to get it blazing again.

Leafa glanced at her loot window, dismissing it with a frown. "Get anything interesting?"

"A dagger." Her brother answered before shaking his head. "It's not much better than the starting short sword."

"Not really my style anyways." Leafa stated, tapping the pommel of her sword. Even this sword was short for her but she'd gotten used to it.

"We'll get you a new sword on the next floor." Kiriko stated, once more walking forward, Leafa walking at his side. "Don't know if you want a katana or a long sword, though."

"Either way, I'm stuck with this until we find and beat this Floor Boss." She guessed, getting a nod.

"The Kobold King or Chief… can't remember which one." Kiriko said with a shrug. "He has four bodyguards and is pretty nasty on his own."

"Anything I should keep in mind?" Leafa asked, arching a golden eyebrow.

"Don't get hit. That usually works." The raven-haired girl replied with a smirk.

"Great advice, Nee-chan. You should be a motivational speaker. 'You see, the trick to life is don't die.'" Leafa sarcastically replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Well, it's worked so far, right?" Her brother smirked back before frowning. "Dead end."

"And no treasure chest this time… Darn." Leafa let out a sigh. "Let's start backtracking, then."

"Actually, I think we should call it for the night." Kiriko commented, looking at the clock.

"Really?" Leafa was surprised at how fast time flew down here. "Well, okay. Let's head back."

o0O0o

"What the heck is going on?!" Leafa cried out, cutting down yet another of the dog faced kobolds. "Where are they all coming from?!"

"I don't know!" Her brother was busy with his own mob of dagger and cleaver wielding monsters. It seemed that for every one he killed, two more took its place. "Keep retreating!"

"I'm trying!" She stepped back and parried a cleaver coming at her flank before lashing out with a Horizontal that shattered three mobs with the swing. "They just keep coming!"

"Turn and run on my mark!" Kiriko called out, getting an understanding call back from his sister. "Ready? Go!"

They both turned and fled the seemingly insurmountable flood of kobolds that crashed through the corridors like a tidal wave.

"Wait?! Is that a player?!" Leafa called out, pointing at a body woman laying on the stone floor.

Possibilities flashed through Kiriko's head. "It's triggering them to frenzy!" Glancing at his map data, he grimaced. "Grab them and get out of here! I'll distract them!"

"You better not die!" Leafa told him, slowing down just enough to grab what was actually an unconscious girl and throw her over her shoulder, grunting at the added weight.

"Of course not!" He replied, quickly swiping through his inventory and dropping a multitude of pellets into his hands. Forgoing any words, he threw the pellets in an arc between him and the monster horde before turning and running away once more.

He'd barely gone two steps when the pellets exploded in a wall of smoke, choking the corridor with thick white clouds of vapor. After a few more steps, he grinned, happy to see that kobolds were still needed sight to track their prey.

His grin faded as he saw the wall of smoke closing in on him, flowing down the halls in its own vision robbing wave. He picked up the pace, remembering that it'd make him blind just as easily!

"Keep running!" He yelled forward, seeing his sister's form silhouetted with the light streaming through the Labyrinth exit archway. He saw them escape into the light just before the smoke caught up to him.

Holding out for as long as possible, he breathed in the white vapors, tasting the acrid air on his tongue as his lungs screamed for oxygen.

Falling into a coughing fit, Kiriko felt, more than saw, the shift from dark dungeon to evening sunlight.

Dropping to the dirt, he found himself below the rising smoke and took a deep breath of dusty air, letting out more hacking coughs.

"Nee-chan!"

"I'm-" He coughed and spit out some flem. "I'm fine. Just keep talking. I'll follow your voice."

"We're over here, Nee-chan!" Leafa called out from his left, so he crawled in that direction, trying to stay below the thinning cloud. "I don't know what's wrong with her but she's not waking up."

Finally out from under the smoke, Kiriko stood and brushed off his skirt and top, clouds of dust flying off with each pat. Looking over, he saw his sister kneeling next to a prone girl with chestnut brown hair.

Stepping over, he kneeled on the other side of the unknown girl, feeling a steady pulse and seeing a slow breathing as the girl's chest slowly rose and fell. "I think she passed out from exhaustion. Look at her eyes."

Leafa did as directed and saw dark circles under the girl's closed eyes. "So… she's just sleeping?"

"I think so." He answered, looking towards the sun setting behind the mountains. "Come on, it'll be night soon. Let's get her to a bed. Maybe she'll tell us what happened when she wakes up."

"Right." Leafa nodded as her brother positioned his arms and picked the girl up in a bridal carry. "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah, it's not too far to the town." He shrugged off her concern, starting the trek towards the town.

In the forefront of his mind was two questions:

Just who was this girl and what was she doing in the Labyrinth?

END OF CHAPTER 3

o0O0o

A/N

You'll notice I'm taking liberties in changing parts of the official SAO cannon to suit my story, but I'm trying to keep the core of it the same. Things that don't matter too much, like floors that are never really explored are maible and even minor floor bosses.

Expect the big stuff to stay mostly the same or at least recognizable as far as I'm thinking things through.

Now, I'm off to bed. I'm tired but my mind wouldn't let me sleep without finishing. I'll fix any editing errors tomorrow.

Oh, and I edited chapters one and two to include the new day the date changed over during a scene transition.


	4. Chapter 4

Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

23 Nov 2022 - Day 17

She woke with a sharp intake of breath, brown eyes snapping open to find herself in a dark room, a flash of panic gripping her heart in its icy grasp.

As the seconds passed, with nothing but the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, the dread slowly ebbed away to leave her laying in a cold sheen of sweat.

Moving slightly, she found herself in a comfortable bed, surrounded by warm downy covers.

Another spike of panic lanced through her before she groped herself, relaxing the moment she found she was still fully clothed.

Taking another breath, she forced herself to calm her heart.

In the following silence, she was able to finally hear the soft even breaths from others in the room with her. After a minute of waiting, she eventually recognized that the other people were just sleeping, the one to her right rolling over in a separate bed, mumbling in her sleep about 'tempura'.

The other was towards her feet. If she strained her eyes in the darkness, she could barely make out a large figure in a chair, head slumped to their chest in slumber.

Taking another slow deep breath, in through her nose and out thinly parted lips, she slowly pulled back the covers, exposing her to the cool night air of the room. Slowly sliding to the edge, she flipped her legs over the edge and carefully fumbled about, trying to find and put on her shoes. A groping hand found her sword propped on the nightstand.

Standing up, she quietly latched the short sword to her hip and started padding towards the door.

"Leaving so soon?"

"Eh!?" She squeeked, jumping back from the person in the chair, tripping enough to fall sitting on the foot of the bed she just left. "W-who are you?! W-where am I?!" She hissed at the voice, a shaky hand gripping her sword.

"We found you passed out in the Labyrinth and brought you back to Tolbana with us." The voice, a female voice, explained. The woman shifted to look at the other bed and the person sleeping in it. "Let's step outside. My sister will be mad if we wake her up."

"O-okay." She agreed, watching the woman stand and let the blanket fall from her shoulders, leaving a much smaller figure than expected. Standing as well, she blinked as the woman opened the door, flooding the room with light from the outside and revealing the woman to be a girl around her age with shiny raven hair tied up in a long ponytail.

"Come on, let's get you some food." The girl offered, stepping away and letting her out of the room and into the hallway of some hotel of some sort.

o0O0o

"Feeling better?" The raven-haired girl asked, sipping at a cup of hot tea. Her having long since finished her plate of fried fish and pickled radishes.

"Yes… thank you." She whispered in quiet appreciation, having spent the last new quiet minutes slowly but surely cleaning her plate that held eggs and potatoes.

"I'm Kiriko." She introduced herself before gesturing upwards. "My sister, Leafa, is still asleep. She volunteered to watch over you through the evening before we switched." She hid a giggle behind a hand. "If we woke her right now, she'd probably prank us in revenge."

She couldn't help but hide her own small giggle at the thought of a little sister pranking her older sibling. Considering she 'was' the little sister in her family, she knew what they could get into. "Yuuki Asuna. Thank you for taking care of me."

Kiriko blinked her steely blue eyes in surprise. "Ah… Most people keep their real names private, Yuuki-san." She blinked again as her statement caused the brunette girl to blink her own brown eyes in surprise. "Um… What's your character's name?"

"Ah… Um…" The obviously inexperienced player touched her index fingers together in embarrassment, a light blush on her cheeks. "It's Asuna…"

The dark haired girl blinked once more in surprise before giggling, setting Asuna off as well at her own faux pas. Smiling in amusement, Kiriko leaned forward to rest her hand on her cheek while planting her elbow onto the table. "Well, I can't say too much, I suppose. My character name is just parts of my real name thrown together."

"Really?" Asuna's eyebrows raised at this confession.

"Yup." Kiriko nodded, cheek still in hand but counting on her other hand. "KI RI KO from Kirigaya Kazu… ko." Kazuko inwardly winced at her near slip, also wondering why she was sharing her mostly true personal information with this girl.

"Child of Harmony…" Asuna said, sussing out what the girl's real name meant. "It's a nice name."

"Thanks." Kiriko smiled before furrowing her thin eyebrows. "Um… Your's is… 'Bright Future'?"

Asuna nodded with a warm smile. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Uh… you, as well?" The raven-haired player looked mildly unsure of herself before shaking her head, sending her high ponytail waving with the movement. "Um… if you don't mind me asking, do you remember what you were doing in the Labyrinth?"

"Labyrinth?" Asuna's confusion shown easily through her expression.

Kiriko leaned back and waved her arms towards the wall. "The dungeon we, my sister and I, found you passed out in. It triggered all the kobolds inside into a frenzy and we barely made it out after rescuing you. If we hadn't of been there, you would have died."

"Oh." The brown haired girl acknowledged with a whisper, looking at the clasped hands in her lap. "Part of me wishes I did."

That set the raven-haired girl back on her heels, blue eyes wide with shock at the admission.

Feeling the stunned state of her savior at her words, Asuna wiped at her eyes as the tears welled. "I just want to go back to Mama and Onii-san." Her breath hitched when she mentioned her older brother. "I wasn't even supposed to here! It's his game! Papa took him out on a business trip and… and I was curious."

Asuna wiped at her eyes again, sniffing. "Then the Calamity happened and everyone was yelling and I just wanted to take that helmet off and… Someone wondered if dying in game would kick us out of it. So, I jumped off the edge."

Asuna let out a sour, hiccupping laugh. "Then I woke up in the church. I tried, again and again, but I'd just keep waking up in that damn church!" She took a breath, forcing her hands to unclench as her lingering shout echoed through the large empty tavern. An unnerved giggle escaped the rambling girl. "And then I heard someone had found the Floor Boss's dungeon and thought 'I haven't tried that yet'! I just have to beat this stupid game and I'll be free!"

Kiriko just sat there, frozen in wide eyed shock at the pretty girl in front of her explain the different ways she'd just tried to commit suicide. Somewhere deep in her own mind, a small, dark voice whispered that this could have been her, if things were different.

"So I started killing everything that stood between me and my chance. Monster after monster… I just kept killing them as fast as I could." Asuna let out a bitter laugh before her facade cracked, tears starting to stream down her cheeks as her lips twisted into a confusing mess of emotion. "Then… after days of fighting, I thought I was ready and… I was at the entrance, my chance to go home, and… and then you saved me."

Kiriko just watched in stunned fascination as the chestnut brunette slowly collapsed into a weeping mess. Glancing around the tavern, she saw they were alone. Dragging her chair around the table to the broken girl's right, she placed a hand on Asuna's shoulder.

Asuna twisted and latched onto her savior like a drowning woman clinging to a life preserver, crying into Kiriko's chest. Sending a quick, if awkward, look around the room once more, the raven-haired sister placed her arms around the sobbing girl in a loose hug, just holding her as she let it all out.

"When Mom didn't take off our Nervegears for dinner, Sugu took it hard, too." Kiriko found herself saying, rubbing a hand across Asuna's back. "I guess it's the job of older siblings to take care of little sisters."

"I'm afraid." Asuna said a few moments later, still holding tight. "Afraid that I'll never see them again… that I'll forget."

"They're you're family." Kiriko responded, finding it hard to believe the girl's fears.

"I can't remember what Onii-san looks like…" The girl whispered as her breath hitched, hugging her life preserver tighter. "I… I can remember him and his voice but… anytime I try to remember what he looks like, it's just… just a black void and I'm scared… of what I'll forget next."

Kiriko just ran a hand over Asuna's back, trying to comfort the girl even as she thought of her and Suguha's mother, the woman's image thankfully coming to her immediately. Kiriko wondered if this was something she needed to keep an eye on to see if it was happening to Sugu and herself.

Thinking of her little sister, she wasn't surprised to see Suguha coming down the stairs, looking around before spotting her and Asuna at the corner table. As she wandered over, the blonde girl was eyeing the girl clinging to her older sibling, the brown haired girl hiding her face into Kiriko's chest. "Morning, Nee-chan."

"Morning, Sugu." Kiriko said with a small smile, feeling Asuna slowly push away, wiping at her eyes. "Sugu, this is Asuna. Asuna, my little sister, Suguha, though her game name is Leafa."

Leafa quirked an eyebrow at her older sibling giving away her real name but shrugged it off, pulling another chair to the small table and sitting down. "Hey. It's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

"Honestly? A lot better now, thank you." Asuna gave the blonde a fragile smile, though her eyes were still looking raw. "Thanks for letting me borrow your 'Nee-chan'."

"Just as long as it's just borrowing." Leafa gave a grin, flicking her eyes towards her black haired sibling, a questioning look in them. "Nee-chan is mine!"

Kiriko just sighed, glancing towards the somber brown haired girl. "She's had a bad time, Sugu. She wasn't here to play the game, like we were. She's here alone."

Leafa's green eyes widened in growing realisation before narrowing into a focused look. "Well, not anymore! She can stay with us!"

Whether it was the offer or the conviction in the blonde's voice, Asuna flinched in surprise.

"You agree with me, right, Nee-chan?" Leafa gave a look that brooked no argument.

It was good, then, that Kiriko agreed with Suguha's offer. "Of course, she can join us." She turned towards the surprised girl. "That is, if you want to."

"I… I don't know what to say." Asuna floundered.

Leafa leaned forward and held the other girl's hands. "You say 'yes'. Nee-chan and I already plan on beating the game to get home and our real bodies back. Why not help us?"

"Real bodies?" Asuna blinked in confusion, looking between the siblings.

"Sugu made our characters a year or so older than we really are and she's not really blonde or that big." Kiriko explained, with a smirk towards her sister, who just stuck her tongue back in response.

"Oh…" Asuna sounded like she'd just realised something everyone else already knew. "I thought it made your character for you."

The siblings shared a glance before Leafa giggled and Kiriko just let out a sigh. "So, you just used the personal default as your character, then. You were supposed to use that as the starting point to create how your character would look."

Asuna just blinked, looking between the Kirigaya siblings and then down towards her hands… her real hands. "Oh…"

o0O0o

24 Nov 2022 - Day 18

"I just reached level nine." Asuna notified her new friends, sheathing her blade and closing the status window.

"Congrats!" Leafa cheered, wrapping her in a one armed hug, leaving her sword arm free.

"Yeah. It's good that this power leveling trick still works." Kiriko agreed, pulling out some bandages to wrap around the bright red lines that marked the brunette's body as soon as the blonde released her.

"Just one more and you'll be ready for the boss. Right, Nee-chan?"

"She's ready right now, actually, but the extra skill slot and health at ten helps out quite a bit." She said before tying off the bandage. Once the First Aid was complete, the wrappings flashed and disappeared, along with the damage lines. "Alright, you're good to go."

"Thank you. That feels much better." Asuna blushed lightly at the contact but smiled at the older than normal teen.

"No problem." Kiriko smiled before patting the girl's shoulder. "We can take a break, though, if you need to."

Asuna put on a confident look and nodded. "I'm ready to continue!"

"Then onwards! To glory!" Leafa cried out, voice echoing off the Labyrinth walls, getting her companions to laugh.

o0O0o

"Alright, it looks like we're getting closer to the Floor Boss." Kiriko stated, pointing towards the Kobold Guards ahead.

"About time." Leafa frowned, resting a hand on the pommel of her sword. "It's been days since we started mapping this place."

"Really?" Asuna glanced at her two companions in mild surprise. "It really takes that long?"

"I guess…" Kiriko twirled one of her bangs with a finger, thinking about it. "If we had every player our level in here mapping it, it'd be a lot faster."

"We did pass by other people on the way in." Asuna pointed out.

Kiriko shook her head. "They're just here to level. You could tell by how they fought the Kobold Rogues and that they weren't going too far into the Labyrinth."

"Ah…" The brunette accepted before looking back to the monsters before them. "So, what do we do now?"

"We fight through them and find the Boss's lair." Leafa answered, pointing into the darkness past the monsters.

"Wait. We should add Asuna to the party." Kiriko stated, opening the menu to do just that. "She's almost to level ten so it's not like she'll lose that much experience with the penalty."

Asuna blinked at the window that popped up before her, tapping the 'Accept' prompt. The names of her companions appeared in her vision, two green bars beside them, along with a green marker pointing at the left edge of her vision that was labeled 'Leafa'. Asuna turned her head, bringing Leafa into sight and noticed a new marker to her right that had 'Kiriko' beside it.

"It takes a little to get used to it, but it's good to know where your friends are." Leafa smiled at seeing the girl experiment with the new HUD items.

"Alright!" Kiriko said, gaining their attention. "Sugu, you tank. Asuna flank left and I'll get the right. Focus on side or back attacks with your Arts to avoid their armor and do more damage."

"Got it, Nee-chan." Leafa drew her sword and advanced.

"Understood." Asuna drew her own short sword and circled left, passing behind the blonde girl.

"Ready when you are, Sugu." The elder sibling stated, drawing the pitch black Annealed Blade out of its sheath.

Leafa let out a dark chuckle before falling into a stance, bent forward and holding her sword back. A flash later and she was right in a kobold's face, slashing up with a Rage Spike Art. The next, she was stepping back and parrying another Guard's slash. "Come and get some!"

o0O0o

"So this is it." The blonde swordswoman ran a hand along one of the giant iron doors that marked the Floor Boss' lair. Looking at it with the flickering light of the torches flanking the portal, she saw multiple inscriptions of kobolds depicting multiple activities, the most of them involving violence against humans.

The three shared a silent moment, just reveling in their latest accomplishment.

"What do we do now?" Asuna asked, turning her gaze towards the Beta player.

"Now?" Kiriko let out a breath. "Now we head back to town and wait for enough people to level up enough to kill the boss."

"Great… more waiting." Leafa complained under her breath, turning away from the door and moving back over to the other two.

"How many people do we need?" Asuna wondered, looking towards the iron doors.

"With us included, we need forty-eight players at or around level ten to beat the boss without heavy losses. We tried it with everyone at level seven and less than half survived the fight."

Leafa looked towards her elder sibling. "You never said if you survived it or not."

"You're right, I didn't." Kiriko smirked and turned away to exit the Labyrinth.

"Hey! Come ooon! Tell me!" Leafa chased after her big sister, Asuna giggling as she followed along. "Asuna! Tell Nee-chan to not be a meanie! Little Sisters unite!"

"Yes, Onee-sama. Tell us!" Asuna chipped in with a hand hiding a giggle and Leafa's encouraging cheer.

"Oi! No ganging up on me! Bad imouto!" Kiriko cried out in shock before seeing the two grinning at her. Letting out a chuckle, she tisked at them with a finger before turning and sprinting off. "Catch me and maybe I'll tell you!"

o0O0o

The raven-haired girl kicked off the wall, trying to conserve as much momentum as possible to keep as much distance between herself and her pursuers.

"We can see all your moves, Nee-chan!" Leafa crowed, mimicking her sibling's maneuver.

"We're catching up, Onee-sama!" Asuna sang with a laugh, having fun with the simple game of tag.

None of the three were really going all out on their speed, each player treating it more like a long distance race instead of a sprint. That didn't change the fact that the two chasing Kirikol had another advantage in the fact that they just had to follow along. Kiriko, on the other hand, had to remember which turns resulted in dead ends or not.

Like the one she just found herself turning into.

"Uh-oh, looks like Nee-chan made a mistake." Leafa sang, trotting to a calm stroll towards her trapped sibling.

Asuna kept enough distance between her and the blonde, so that their quarry couldn't just run around them. "Are you going to tell us now, Nee-sama?" The brown haired girl smiled warmly with the joke.

"Hmm… did I survive or did I not survive?" Kiriko mused, pacing back and forth along the back wall, tapping her chin with a finger.

"Well, did you or didn't you?" Leafa asked, continuing to walk closer to her pacing target.

"Well… you haven't caught me yet, have you?" She asked, causing them to blink in confusion. Using the moment to her favor, Kiriko drew her sword and set into a stance. The next, she was meters behind both girls, slashing upwards to hit nothing with her Rage Spike. "Bye!"

"Oh, no you don't!" Leafa yelled, her and Asuna turning on the spot to chase after the retreating sibling.

Kiriko led the way with a laugh, sheathing her sword on the move as she turned down the correct turn this time. That was her only mistake, the following girls probably not falling for it again.

She got insanely lucky on the next turn.

"Hi, Klein!" She called out, seeing the redheaded man fighting kobolds with his friends, clogging the entire hallway with their battle. She saw a gap the instant it was made and took advantage of it, sliding through the shattering remains of a kobold and between the swordsman's legs. "Bye, Klein!"

"Wait. What?!" The swordsman cried out, looking at Kiriko's fleeing form only to take a dagger to the side. "Damnit!"

"Hey, was that your girlfriend?" Harry called over the fighting.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Klein yelled back, slicing another Kobold Rogue in twain. "She's into girls, dude!"

"Damn… you failed so hard she switched teams? Feels bad, man." Issin asked with a wide grin, kicking a kobold before chopping down with his sword.

"Out of the way!" Leafa yelled out, flashing forward to cut into the kobolds' flank with a Rage Spike before pushing through the stunned swordsmen, Asuna following suit a moment later. "Get back here!"

"So, who's the new girl?" Dynamm asked, killing his last enemy with a small flourish, glancing in the direction where the two girls just disappeared.

"No idea." Klein answered, sheathing his sword. "She was kinda cute, though."

"Don't even think about it, man." Kuni reached over to grab the redhead's shoulder. "You've already made one cutie bat for our team. Our roster is full enough as it is."

"I hate you guys so much right now." Klein shrugged off the man's hand with a sigh, even as the guys all chuckled. "All my hate!"

o0O0o

"Hey, Klein! Over here!" Leafa called out over the crowded tavern waving a hand high above her head, seeing him turn and wave back she sat back down.

"Was that really necessary, Sugu?" Her elder sibling questioned, looking a the surrounding people now looking at the three young woman seated at a small table. Thankfully, the crowd went back to whatever they were doing around the time Klein pushed his way towards them.

"Yo!" He raised a hand in greeting, before grabbing the raven-haired girl and messing up her hair with his large hand, eliciting a shriek of surprise. "That's for the Horunka prank." He informed her with a grin, setting down in the seat between the glaring Kiriko and laughing Leafa.

"Really? Do you know how annoying it is to comb hair this long?" Kiriko complained, pulling her hair loose of it's ponytail and summoning a large comb.

"Cut it shorter." Klein suggested with a grin.

Steely blue eyes glared at him as she tried to regain some order to her hair once more. "I can't until the fifth floor. That's where the first barber is."

"You better not cut it!" Leafa stopped laughing to warn her sibling.

Klein just let out a chuckle at the byplay, raising is mug to his lips to drink in the bitter ale. "So, I know these two but you're a new face." He raised a hand to the silent brunette across from him. "Name's Klein. Nice to meet you."

Instead of answering, the girl leaned and tried to hide behind Kiriko. "Hello."

"It's okay, Asuna. Kleins a good guy and I sort of deserved it." The raven-haired swordswoman admitted, tying her hair back into a ponytail. After the weeks in game, she'd gotten pretty good at hair maintenance.

"Harry nearly shit his pants when that thing went nuts." The redhead said, taking another drink. "The drops and experience were good, though, so we kept doing it."

"So this is the thanks I get for helping you out. I see how it is." Kiriko smirked at the flat look Klein gave.

"Helping would have been telling me about it going berserk so I could stand back and laugh WITH you." The redhead corrected his so-called friend.

To the side, Leafa did her best to contain her giggle fit, to mediocre success at best.

Seeing the brown haired girl relax back into her seat, Kiriko waved a hand towards her. "Anyways, this is Asuna, a new friend of ours. Asuna, this guy is as much a vagabond as he looks." She said with a smile.

"Oh, 'vagabond'! Nee-chan's found a dictionary!" Leafa pitched in before breaking down into more giggles, tapping her juice filled mug against Klein's.

Kiriko just rolled her eyes. "So, we saw you in the Labyrinth. How are you guys holding up?"

"We're doing pretty good. Almost to level eleven, just trying to get that last tick before the raid meeting."

"Raid meeting?" Kiriko repeated, perking up at those words along with Leafa and Asuna. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't hear?" Klein blinked at how they reacted to his statement. "There's this guy called Diavel who's trying to organize a raid on the first boss."

"Tis being held in two days at the amphitheater here in town." A new voice cut in, as a cloaked figure pulled up a fifth chair to the small table.

"Hey! Who are you?!" Leafa demanded, glaring at the intruder.

"Tis just a friend who's handing out free information-sa." The young woman's voice held forth her amusement at the indignation displayed.

Kiriko narrowed her eyes, the voice and words tickling something in the back of her mind.

"She is also curious to see just who Klien-san's friends were and, to her surprise, it tis the only person to complete the 'Secret Medicine' quest, which means she must be either a Beta Tester or very, very lucky-sa."

"Argo?" Kiriko hesitantly asked, scrunching her eyebrows.

"Oh, tis a Beta Tester!" The now named person pulled back her hood, revealing a smirking girl with shaggy hair the color of sand with three red 'whiskers' painted on each cheek. "But I don't remember you and I always remember faces."

Kiriko flicked her gaze from Argo, Klein, Leafa and back. "We'll be right back." She told the others, gesturing for Argo to follow her.

"Nee-chan?" Leafa looked confused, starting to stand before her sibling held a hand up to stop her.

"Just… give us some privacy. Please, Sugu." Kiriko bade her before walking off with an interested Argo following along.

The shift from bustling tavern to the calmer evening street, was a change of night and day. Even still, the raven-haired girl led the cloak wearing informant into the shadows of a nearby alley.

"Do you take every new girl you meet to such wonderful places?" Argo joked, crossing her arms. "Must be a juicy little secret-sa!"

"Argo the Rat. Beta Tester and the best information broker in Aincrad… if a bit stingy."

Brown eyes narrowed at the description of herself. "Someone's really informed herself."

"Himself." Kiriko corrected, receiving a surprised look. "Nice to see you again, Argo."

"Just who are you?" The Rat hissed, getting a confused read from the girl before her.

"Kirito."

Argo blinked at that, rubbing her eyes before blinking again.

"Come on, get it all out. I know what's coming." Kiriko said with a resigned tone, already rolling her eyes.

The expected laughter exploded down the narrow passage, the sandy haired teen nearly doubling over with her mirth. Just as her laughter started dying down, she looked at Kiriko and set off once again.

"You'll suffocate if you keep that up." The raven-haired teen dryly commented.

Argo held up a finger, her laughter slowly petering out to become deep breaths as she leaned against the wall of the alley. "Oh, my! Ki-bou's a girl-sa! Tis rich!" She chuckled before shooting over a grin. "Please tell me you've got a super cute name to go with it!"

"If you consider Kiriko, super cute, I guess." Said girl shrugged.

The Rat actually looked a little disappointed. "Well, that's a letdown. I was hoping for something like Kristi, Yukina or Tifani."

Kiriko let out a snort. "Sorry to disappoint you." Her face took on a more serious note. "So, how much to make sure this info never gets out?"

"Ki-bou needn't worry. This information is priceless-sa! There's not enough Col in all of Aincrad." Argo replied with a wave and a snicker.

"Thanks, Argo." The smile was genuine, knowing that the secret was safe with her at this point.

"Argo has to ask, what happened? She didn't think Ki-bou was into cross-play." The information dealer asked cutely, a knowing grin on her face.

"I'm not. It's just a stupid prank my sister did that I got stuck with." She waved a hand over her new body with a shrug. "I've gotten used to it."

"Tis seems that way-sa." Argo said, looking the raven-haired teen over. "She did good work, I'm almost a little jealous. Of course, Ki-bou now knows a woman's body better than most men!" She broke down into another fit of giggles that rolled into full on gut busting laughter at the bright flush she saw on her friend's face.

Kiriko just endured it before leading the still grinning Argo back into the tavern and back to the table.

"...and then Dynamm pushes him into the lake!" Klein loudly said, the two girls breaking out into giggles while the man took a drink. "The best part was, Kuni tricked him, yelling 'I can't swim' which was a total lie, by the way. So, Dynamm forgot this, freaks out and dives in to save Kuni, only the water's maybe a meter deep, tops. Heh, he got a face full of mud and we all got a laugh as they fought it out in the pond."

"I hope you guys didn't miss me too much." Kiriko said as she sat down in a chair now opened between her sister and Asuna.

"Miss you? They hardly noticed you were gone with me here!" Klein flashed a thumbs up at the teen, getting a chuckle in return.

"So, what was that about, Nee-chan?" Leafa glanced between the smirking Argo and her sibling.

"I'll tell you later, Sugu." She lowly replied before waving a hand towards the sandy haired girl. "Guys, meet Argo the Rat, the best information dealer in Aincrad." She gave the girl a sly look. "Unless something's changed?"

"If I've suddenly gained a rival, I haven't heard of them-sa." Argo answered, accepting a mug of something from the passing waitress.

"How come we've never heard of you, then?" Leafa asked, taking a sip of her juice.

"Tis a lot of hard work setting up a new network-sa!" She defended herself, pointing towards Kiriko. "Finding as many who already know me tis the first step, which means Beta Testers. Then I build my network off that."

"Didn't you have that book thing?" Klein asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Fine, tis that which tis step one-sa." She corrected.

"Book? What book?" Kiriko asked with a confused look.

Instead of answering Argo pulled a small pamphlet out of her inventory and handed it over, Leafa and Asuna leaning in to read it.

"Aincrad for Beginners: An Argo's Guide!" She read out loud before giving her friend a flat look.

"Honestly, tis a waste of time for you to read, Ki-bou." Argo gestured to the pamphlet. "Tis covers the very basics, such as menus, combat and such-sa."

"Because you're still figuring out what's changed and what hasn't." Kiriko reasoned out, knowing the girl across the table.

She pointed at her with a finger gun. "Ki-bou gets it right in one!"

"So, what, you buy and sell information to anyone who has enough money." Asuna asked for clarification.

"Pretty much-sa." Argo shrugged before wagging a finger. "But there are exceptions! Some is priceless and those secrets are safe with me-sa!"

"And when she says that, she means it." Her friend from the Beta agreed, nodding her head. "Actually, I've got a deal for you, Argo."

"Oh? Color me interested, Ki-bou! Tis always interesting things you find-sa." Argo leaned forward onto the table, placing her chin into her hands.

"Five thousand Col." Kiriko fired off with a grin, making the rest blink at the tidy sum. She held a finger to Leafa's lips when she opened them to speak, getting a glare in response.

"Hmm… Ki-bou things this tis very good information, indeed-sa." Argo eyed the raven-haired girl. "Two thousand."

"Four. You'll like it when I show it to you." Kiriko smirked, getting a quirked eyebrow from the Rat. When Argo didn't respond any further, she leaned forward and lowered her voice. "It's about the first floor Labyrinth."

At those words, she could see the gears turning inside Argo's head. Running possibilities on just what that information was, who was giving it and who might want it. "Three and a half and not a Col more." Argo reached out a hand.

"Deal!" She reached out and shook it before opening her menu and manipulating it.

Argo accepted the friend request without a thought but widened her eyes at the window that popped up next. "Ki-bou does find the best things for Argo." She muttered, adding Col to the trade window and accepting the trade.

"Figured you might like that." She said with a knowing smirk.

"What did you just give her, Nee-chan?" Leafa asked, looking between the old friends.

"I just sold her the map data that leads to the Floor Boss." Kiriko answered, grinning at her sister.

"But don't we already have enough money?" His sister asked back, knowing they had more Col they could currently spend, having reached max upgrades for the first floor.

"Tis/There's never enough Col." Argo and Kiriko replied at the same time, before breaking down in giggles.

"Okay… that was weird." Asuna stated at the mimicked reaction, getting a nod of agreement from the blonde.

"Hey, man, mind if I get a copy of that?" Klein asked. "I'll save us some time farming tomorrow."

"Sure. Here you go." The raven-haired teen sent the map data to the man.

"Thanks!"

Asuna just watched with a confused look on her face, pointing between Argo and Klein. "Wait… why did you charge her but just give it to him for free?"

"Because she's going to sell it to Daibel for... What? Five thousand?" Kiriko answered, looking towards his friend even as she typed away a message.

"Five point four, actually." She answered, still typing away before she closed the window. "And sold!"

Kiriko just waved a hand towards the grinning girl. "Ladies, gentlemen... I present Argo the Rat; best information dealer in Aincrad."

o0O0o

26 Nov 2022 - Day 20

"Welcome, one and all!" The man called out from the stage, his blue locks of hair flowing with his movements. "We are here for a reason and one reason only, to defeat the First Floor Boss, Illfang, The Kobold Chieftain!"

"While we may share a common goal, there may be many motivations for completing it as there are people here." He said with a smile on his face, placing a hand over his metal breastplate, obviously a rare drop or quest item of some sort. "I, for example, wish to defeat the Floor Boss just to see what lies on the other side!"

He waved an arm towards the left side of the stands and then the right. "Some of you might be the same, others due to boredom or to feel the thrill of battle flowing through your veins."

The cerulian haired player took on a more somber tone, stroking his dyed goatee with a sigh. "Some are here because beating the game may be the only way home, whether for themselves or for someone they left behind."

He let the words sink into the audience before placing a hand upon his breastplate once more. "Whatever your reasons, I, Diavel, welcome you and wish to lead you to victory!" He thrust a fist into the air, the players in the stands cheering with him.

"He's a very good speaker." Asuna commented lowly, so only Kiriko and Leafa could hear her.

"I swear I've… He seems familiar." Kiriko said in return. "I just can't recall…"

The twenty-something man on the stage made a gesture to calm the crowd and waited for the calm to take hold once more. "Thanks to some industrious players, who may or may not be here right now, we already have a map that leads straight to Illfang! With this map, we may strike down the Kobold Chief this very day!"

"Three and a half thousand and I don't have to wait for people to bumble around the Labyrinth? Best trade ever." Kiriko smirked, getting giggles from the two girls on both sides of her.

Once the audience died down once more, Diavel stroked his goatee before nodding, pointing out to the people looking down on him. "Over two hundred of you brave Adventurers are here today to kill Illfang and advance the game to the next floor."

He let the words fade away before he loudly sighed. "Unfortunately, most of you will be unable to fight Illfang today." A wave of mutterings rolled out, though he contained it with a calming gesture. "I understand the need to do something, believe me, I do! Unfortunately, it is a matter of mechanics!"

"Even though the Calamity made SAO real, there are parts of the game that still exist. On a positive example, the death and resurrection mechanics! I for one am thankful that this isn't a world where one mistake, one moment of bad luck, could spell your doom! But that also means there are limits to how many people can fight in the Floor Boss Lair at once."

Diavel let the undercurrent of chatter to occur for a bit before he continued. "Forty-eight! That is the size of one full raid. Eight full parties of six players. That is the limit of players."

"So!" He raised a finger into the air before pointing towards an unhooded Argo, "We will be recording each of your levels and skill values to determine who will be part of the raid, but fear not, your stats will not be shared, even to me. Argo-san has guaranteed your privacy and her word is her bond!"

"And she also gets some free publicity." Asuna said, nodding at the move.

Leafa glanced at the whiskered girl at the back of the amphitheater. "Do you think we'll be selected for the raid?"

"It's guaranteed." Her big sister answered with confidence. "I got a message from Argo already saying we're in."

"Is that because we're ready or because you earned her almost two thousand Col with the map?" Asuna asked with a small smirk.

"Yes."

"Now, don't think that if you're not in the raid group that your assistance isn't required! We still have to travel through the Labyrinth to reach Illfang and the spawn rates of the Kobold Rogues will increase with every player!" He waved a hand across the raised bleachers. "Your task will be to screen the raid members, so they can reach the Boss Lair without a reduction in combat capabilities! The stronger our raid, the more chance of success we have of defeating the Boss! This is a combined effort!"

"And now we're going to be bored the entire time we're traveling…" Leafa let out a sigh.

"It's not like we'd get anything from the mobs while we're in the raid anyways." Kiriko pointed out.

Tapping her lips with a finger, Asuna gestured towards the seated Argo, already questioning the first player. "If our spots in the raid are already a sure thing, do we still need to register with Argo-san?"

"Unfortunately…" The raven-haired swordswoman let out a sigh. "People would ask questions if we didn't."

"Great… another thing to be bored about." The blonde to her right groused out.

o0O0o

"Your attention please!" Diavel's voice projected around the area, calling the assembly into order once more. "Thank you for your patience in this but know that we've selected the members of the raid. If you have not received a message from Argo with the name of your party leader or my own name as raid leader, then you are part of the screening parties to clear the way."

"Looks like you're our party leader, Nee-chan." Leafa smiled at her sibling.

"And I've got a message to see Diavel." Kiriko informed them as she made her way down to the stage.

The stage was rather full with the forty-eight players on it, the screening players forming their own groups up in the stands.

"Kiriko! Will Kiriko please come here!" Diavel called out.

"Excuse me. I need to get through!" She pushed through the crowded players, finally reaching the small clearing with the blue haired swordsman standing in the center. "I'm Kiriko."

"Nice to meet you." He held out a large hand and she shook it. "Even though I'm leading the raid, you're going to be the leader of the party I'll be in." As he said that, a party invite opened before the raven-haired girl, inviting her to join Diavel's party.

Kiriko accepted it, noticing that Diavel's name held the raid leader and party leader indicators before the second one moved to her name after a moment.

"There." He nodded with a grin before calling out. "If you're to be in Kiriko's party, please follow her to the side to receive invites and await further details!" He directed before calling out the next party leader's name.

Stepping to the side, the wall of players made a gap she stepped through. Reaching the edge of the stage, the raven-haired swordswoman turned to find her sister and Asuna standing with a short black woman with well defined muscles on her arms and a lithe, bishonen looking young man.

"Just a moment and I'll send you invites." She said, inviting her sister and Asuna first. Then she turned to the other two as she looked at her message. "So… Tiffany and Gillian."

"That's us." Tiffany let out a laugh as the bishonen man scratched his cheek. "Nice to meet you!" Her voice smokey to the ear.

"You, too." She replied, sending out the invites. "I'm Kiriko and this is my sister Leafa and my friend Asuna." Each of them greeting the other two as well.

"Hello. Please look after us." Gillian greeted in a clear light voice, somehow fitting his somewhat effeminate looks.

"Okay, so…" Kiriko tried to think of what to say. "I guess we should figure out how everyone fights so we aren't getting in each other's way." Seeing the nods from her party members, she placed a hand to her chest. "I guess I'll start, I'm-"

"No way, I'm gonna be in a party with that guy!" An incised voice yelled out, interrupting her introduction and gathering all eyes towards it. "He's a freaking cheater!"

"Dude! What's your problem?!" The target of the accusation, a guy around seventeen with short wavy hair, rocked back on his heels in surprise.

The older man jabbed a finger into the younger's leather chest armor. "You know exactly what I'm saying! There's no way you're level twelve without cheating!" The man's scowl mixing with the scar running down his face to make the look menacing. "Or one of them Beta Testers and there's no real difference between the two!"

"What the hell's going on over here?!" Diavel bellowed, a sharp look in his eye, his displeasure easy to see at the disruption. He flicked his eyes towards the bleachers, seeing they also had the full attention of those players.

"I have no idea, man!" The younger player admitted, waving his hand at his still scowling accuser, rubbing at his nose with the other. "I was just doing introductions and this guy flipped out!"

"Cause you're a freaking Beta cheater, Cooper!" The man accused once more with a jabbing finger. "While we were trying to figure out just had happened with the Calamity, you cheated and were already doing the good quests and shit!"

"Hey! Being in the Beta isn't cheating! I just got lucky!" Cooper tried defending himself.

"So, you admit it!" The scarred man crowed. "You're a freaking Beta Tester!"

"Alright! Let's calm down and keep things civil. We can deal with this like adults, don't you think, Mister…" Diavel cut in between the players and made some calming hand motions.

"Kibaou." The scarred man answered. "And I'm not partying with one of those Beta Testers. He'd probably stab me in the back for the MVP bonus!"

"What the hell's your problem!" Cooper pushed up against Diavel's gloved hand. "They wiped the characters after the Beta ended! I started at level one, just like you, it's just I didn't waste time hiding like a coward in the Town of Beginnings like you must have!"

"Why you little-"

"Enough!" Diavel's voice bellowed, pushing both players apart once more, this time with a little more force. "We don't have time for this… this childishness!" The blue haired raid leader turned towards the scar-faced Kibaou. "Look, I understand you're still angry after the Calamity but disrupting this isn't helping anyone. Please, let's keep calm in these troubling times."

"I'm trying to keep selfish little pricks like him from backstabbing this raid!" Kibaou declared his intention, pointing a finger over the distance. "If he's selfish enough to keep quiet about where the good hunting spots and quest locations are instead of helping out after the Calamity, he's selfish enough to screw the raid over just so he can get some good loot!"

"My mom has cancer, you fucking asshole!" Cooper cried out, silencing the area save for his echoing words. "She had some experimental procedure planned four days ago, one that would find out if they could cure her or not and I couldn't be there because I'm stuck in this Goddamn game!"

The declaration earned the younger man a few nods of understanding while it got Kibaou a few dirty looks.

"So, I couldn't give two shits if you're butthurt about the fact you didn't get into the Beta. You can be pissy all you want, just stay out of my way." Cooper wiped his eyes and shot a glare over to the larger man before lowering his voice into deadly seriousness. "Cause I'm warning you, if you ever come after me in the field... trying to stop me from beating this game, I'll PK your ass as many times as it takes to get you to leave me the hell alone! Now, get the hell out of my party."

"You little-"

Kibaou's moment was halted by Diavel's hand and a solemn shake of his head. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave. Maybe after you've taken some time to calm down, you can join the next boss raid."

Glancing around him, seeing the glares and unimpressed looks on the surrounding players, Kibaou scoffed but backed down. "Fine. Just watch your backs and don't say I didn't warn you." He spit on the ground and walked away.

The silence that followed the altercation held sway until the cerulian haired raid leader let out a sigh and walked towards where Argo sat seated, his boots echoing off the stone stage.

"Whoa…" Leafa let out a breath. "That was a thing."

"I think it's sad he's in such pain." Gilliam shook his head in empathy.

Tiffany nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah… I don't know how I'd handle it if I was trapped here without you."

"Oh? Are you siblings, like Kiriko and Leafa?" Asuna asked at the dark skinned woman's comment.

"Oh, he's my wife." Tiffany replied with a grin, laughing at the bright flush on Gilliam's face.

"Andy! Don't tell everyone!" The blushing bishonen slapped the laughing woman's arm. "It's embarrassing!"

"W-wait! Wife?!" The brunette cried out in shock, before shrinking back at realising just how loud she was. "But…"

"We were just having a little fun changing sides and got stuck." Tiffany admitted shamelessly with a shrug.

Asuna's mouth opened and closed a few times as she pointed a shaky finger at the short woman. "...you're really a man?"

"Yup." She answered, gesturing towards the taller but still embarrassed Gilliam. "Kathy wanted to try being the 'man in the relationship' so we made each other's characters for a laugh." Tiffany let out a bright laugh. "Based off how short she made me, she must have wanted me to look up to her for once!"

Considering that Gilliam wasn't tall at all, maybe a hundred and seventy-ish centimeters, the height difference really was the fact that Tiffany was just tiny, even smaller than Kiriko's hundred and fifty-three centimeter height. There was almost a full head height difference between the married couple.

"B-but, that's perverted!" Asuna balked with wide eyes, shaking her head.

"Hey! Nee-chan isn't a pervert!"

Kiriko let out a groan and palmed her face with both hands at Leafa's declaration towards her sibling's defense.

"Kiriko… you…" Asuna stared at her with shocked earthy eyes.

"Wow, I'd have never have guessed." Tiffany looked over the outed cross-playing Kiriko. "You hid it really well."

"It's not Nee-chan's fault!" Leafa told the brown haired girl at their side.

"I did?" Steely blue eyes blinked in surprise.

Asuna stepped back, eyes still wide. "But she's a boy!"

"I would have thought you were just a tomboy, like your sister." Gilliam softly agreed with his husband. That thought made Kiriko's mind to glitch, for multiple reasons.

"It's all my fault, so don't you dare blame my Nee-chan!" Leafa stepped in between Asuna and Kiriko, forcing the older girl to look at the blonde instead. "It was just a stupid joke, okay! She didn't even know until we logged in! And… and it's all my fault…" She admitted with a hitched breath as her older sibling moved over to put an arm around her shoulders.

"But…" Asuna cringed, feeling like a heel. "If he's a boy, why do you call him 'Nee-chan'."

"To try and prevent events like this." Kiriko answered for her sister. "It's just easier to pretend. It's not like I can fix it, right now."

"Is everything alright over here?" Diavel's voice drew their attention, the man looking at the distraught girl with a concerned gaze.

"Ah... I brought up Cooper's situation and she got homesick. It's my fault, really." Asuna lied to the man before looking towards the girl with tears making tracks down her cheeks and formally bowed. "Leafa, I'm sorry to have caused these bad emotions."

The blonde sniffed and wiped her eyes. "It's okay… I just miss Mom."

Asuna smiled sadly, taking the lie as acceptance of her apology.

"We're a long road ahead but take heart in the fact you are working towards your goals to return home." Diavel nodded towards the blonde girl. "I'm afraid I'll have to borrow Kiriko-san for a party leader meeting. So, prepare yourselves, because we're heading out once that's over."

"Right…" Kiriko looked to her sister. "You going to be okay?"

"She'll be fine." Asuna stepped up to take Kiriko's spot, placing a hand on the blonde's arm.

The raven-haired girl nodded and hurried after the cerulean raid leader.

o0O0o

"How are you dealing with it?" Kiriko leaned over and whispered to the black woman walking next to her as the raid made its way towards the Boss's lair. It was actually pretty boring, something her sister had been complaining about, just walking through the dungeon while having the screening parties clear the route forward.

Tiffany rubbed her chin and let out a hum. "Well, it was pretty weird at first but after a week or so, I got used to being so tiny." She said, causing the younger female to blink. "It was really annoying at first, having to look up at everyone, the lack of reach and having to take more steps to move the same distance and a couple other things but I got used to it."

"Ah… I, um… I meant the whole 'being a girl', thing." She asked, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

"Oh, that." Tiffany shrugged. "The hardest part was remembering to sit down to pee."

Kiriko just stared at the older woman in disbelief. "That's it?!"

"Well, that and how long it takes for my hair to dry, I guess." She answered, pointing to her wavy curled hair before laughing. "Going from shaved bald to having this bush on my head was a real shock, I'll tell you!"

"I told you, dear. It looks good on you." Gilliam commented with a warm smile.

"See, that's the reason why I don't mind. As long as Kathy's with me, things are good." Tiffany said, leaning into her taller wife.

"Love you, too, dear." The blonde Gilliam smiled and leaned down to peck his husband on the lips.

"Anyways, to answer your 'real' question… Well, maybe it's the American in me but I say that as long as you have someone who loves you, who cares what anyone else thinks?" Tiffany held up a finger. "And I'm not just talking romantic love, here. You and your sister seem pretty close, so I say, as long as you make sure she's happy and you're happy yourself, then your doing well."

The shorter female flashed a smirk and wiggled her eyebrows a moment later with a conspiratorial whisper. "And if you can swing it and find someone you like; the sex is amazing!"

"Okay, that's quite enough, dear!" Gilliam chastised with a light slap to his husband's shoulder. "She's dealing with enough as it is. Don't tease her!"

"I… uh… I'm going to go… over here and… yeah..." Kiriko carefully shifted away from the laughing woman, face so hot she swore it had caught fire.

END OF CHAPTER 4

o0O0o

A/N

Okay, just for clarification, I'm going to be using the pronouns based off the body the player is wearing. It's been almost three weeks since the Calamity, so Kazuto and all the other players are starting to get used to their bodies. The ones that aren't… well, unfortunately, they wouldn't progress the story, so I'm not going to cover them.

As for Suguha referring to Kazuto as her sister and using female pronouns, it's more something she's practiced offscreen and just forced it to become a habit to try and protect her brother.

And here's Asuna, Argo, Agil (Tiffany) and his wife Kathy! If you're expecting Asuna to start speaking Jive, you're in the wrong AU. This Asuna at least knows how to open her menu. XD

Speaking of Asuna, this one is a bit more broken at the start than the OU Asuna because, while they both considered suicide, this Asuna actually succeeded... multiple times, losing a bit of herself with each death. But, like with many situations, being around friends and those who'll support you makes a big difference!

For the married couple, I wanted to use Tiffany for Agil's name as a nod to the Abridged series, figuring that in this context, he and his wife just used each other's middle names. I just didn't want to use Gilbert for Kathy's name… so I changed it to Gillian.

As for Kibaou, in the OU, his rant made a little sense as him being a man who's raging at anything he can, at least for the start of the game. His continued prejudice was just insanity later on. I mean, why would you ostracize the strongest or most experienced players of a game you're trying to survive?

Well, in this chapter, he's still an angry man raging at something out of his control and looking for a scapegoat. But without the permanence of death, there's no reason for his line of thinking to take root, in my opinion. Sure, there'll be a few players who'll always feel bitter about the Beta Testers but it definitely won't be a pronounced as in the OU.

Oh, and Cooper was the one that died to the berserking mob last chapter. But he got better! 7_7

As always, leave any thoughts or opinions in the reviews. I do read them.


	5. Chapter 5

Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

26 Nov 2022 - Day 20

The great iron doors, marking the lair of Illfang, stood before the amassed players, the flickering torches casting dancing shadows onto the engravings covering the portal.

The raid's leader let out a breath and turned away from the threshold. "We stand before the second trial of our new lives! Before the next step towards the clearing of Aincrad and into the unknown! But what is the first trial, you may ask?"

There were some murmurs at the odd motivational speech. "It was standing back up, dusting ourselves off and declaring to the world that we wouldn't let the Calamity rule our lives!"

Sporadic cheers broke out with nods of agrement peppering the players. "Raid members, prepare yourselves! We attack in five minutes!" He looked out towards the screening parties. "For those who have escorted the raid this far, you have my thanks. With your assistance, you have the best chance of defeating the floor boss. No matter what any may say, you are as much responsible for our coming success as any person currently preparing to fight him!"

"To clearing Aincrad! To Glory! To Freedom!"

"I have to wonder if this is him living out his dream." Tiffany commented, barely heard over the cheers of the surrounding players.

"Even if it is, he's a little cheezy." Gilliam said, making sure he set his belt slots up correctly, getting his husband to laugh.

"Maybe that's what they need right now." Kiriko pointed out, taking a moment to stretch out her back and do some warm up exercises, Leafa following her example nearby.

"But not you?" The blonde bishounen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Please. We've already decided we're beating this game and getting home. No offense but we have people waiting for us." The raven-haired party leader replied, gesturing towards her sister and Asuna.

"Right! We're going to beat that dragon and save the world!" Leafa called out, getting some cheers from the surrounding raid members.

"That's the spirit!" Diavel cheered with a wide smile, clapping his gloved hands together. He glanced towards Kiriko and motioned for her to follow him towards the doors, where there was enough of a distance for a bit of privacy. "Based off how calm you've been since the start of this, I'm asuming you're a Beta Tester." He held up a hand as he grinned. "Don't worry, I was too."

"Okay… So what's this about, then? You should know how Illfang fights, so what's with the speeches and everything?"

"Because they needed a leader to step up and be the spark to light the fires of progress!" He said before letting out a breath at the flat look he was receiving. "Alright. Anyways, I assume Argo knows about your history, which is why she picked you as leader of my party."

"No offense but is this going somewhere?" Kiriko crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow.

"Fine, strieght to the point." He sighed. "I want the LAB."

The statement caused Kiriko's other eyebrow to join the first in its rise to hide under her bangs.

"For everything I'm doing to organize and lead this, I'm going to be left out of most of the fighting, too. I figure, if I can engineer a stuation where I can get the LAB, why not let their valiant leader be the one who stuck the boss low?"

"You do know they changed it to be a Most Valuable Player bonus for boss fights, right?"

Daivel blinked at the shorter teen before him. "Wait… really?"

"Yup." She emphesised the pop at the end. "Too many players fighting over the LAB, so they were going to let Cardinal decide who deserved it most." Choosing not to point out that this is one such situation.

"Huh… well, shit."

Kiriko let out a snort of amusement, seeing the 'knightly leader' turn into a dejected gamer in an instant. "Since everything else seems to be working normally, you still have a chance at the MVP bonus. The devs were saying they wanted to reward leadership as well as fighting skills."

"Well, I can live with that." He held out a gloved hand, which the other Beta Tester shook. "I probably missed it during the chaos of preparing for finals. Missed the character transfer window as well, so lost my character name but maybe you'll remember me. The name was Deamon."

Steely blue eyes blinked in recognition. "Oh, yeah, I remember you now! You led the raid to take down the field boss on the sixth floor." She snickered. "Remember that one guy who tried jumping out of a tree to ride it?"

Daivel let out a laugh. "Yeah, it was a complete miss and he slammed face first into the dirt! Good times!" He let out another chuckle before really looking at the girl before him. "But I don't remember you being there… Just who are you?"

"Well…" She leaned forward, holding a hand against her face and speaking softly, making Daivel lean in just to hear. "That's a secret!"

He just straightened with a flat look to his eyes. "That joke's way too old to be funny."

She just grinned at him. "It's pretty funny from this side."

"Bah!" He waved her away with an exadurated expression. "Fine! Keep your secrets, girl!"

"That's the plan!" Kiriko replied with a smile, turning to walk back to her party.

As soon as she reached them, Leafa pulled her into a consperatorial hold, their heads close together. "What was that all about? Was the Heroic Knight enraptured by the Warrior Princess?"

"What?! No!" Kiriko looked disgusted. "Don't say things like that! He's just another Beta Tester that wanted to talk strategy."

"So, what was that bit at the end?" The blonde quirked an eyebrow suggestively.

"Now, that… is a secret!" She booped her sister's nose and pulled away to finish checking her kit.

Leafa just gave her a flat look. "That joke's bad and you should feel bad, Nee-chan."

"Alright, everyone! I hope you've prepared yourself for the battle to come!" Diavel's voice called out, silencing any lingering conversations. "Just a quick reminder, stick with your party and follow your leader's directions. Party leaders, remember the plan and this should go smoothly."

"Teams Two, Three and Four will be keeping Illfang busy while Teams Five thru Eight fight his bodyguards. While the bodyguards are alive, Illfang is imune to damage, so focus on just surviving. Once a bodyguard is dead, those teams should move to another one as quickly as possible." He looked over the area, making sure the raid members understood. "When the bodyguards are taken down, we'll switch to an Odds or Evens play. If Odds are called, all odd numbered teams are to start fighting, allowing the Evens to back away and heal up, with the same happening if I call Evens."

"For those of you who don't know, there's a special award for the Most Valuable Player of the boss fight. It's up to Cardinal who that MVP is, so fight your best but stick to the plan. Good luck, have fun and may the best player win!"

Seeing the gleam in some of the player's eyes at the chance to earn a special reward, the cerulian knight grinned. Turning on his heel, he reached out and pushed the great doors inward with a slow ease that made them seem weightless. "Raid members, move out!"

o0O0o

"From left to right; Five, Six, Seven and Eight, those are your bodyguards!" Diavel called out as the torches surround the room slowly lit, revealing Illfang seated on his throne and the four bodyguards flanking him.

As the final torch was light, the giant Kobold Chieftain stood and drew his giant cleaver like sword and let out a roar of challenge. His bodyguards echoed the challenge and charged the raiding Adventurers.

"Charge!" Diavel swung his sword forward, the players roaring forward to meet the monsters. As the Parties reached their designated targets and engaged in combat, Diavel's eyes narrowed as he evaluated the flow of battle. He watched as teams Five thru Eight moved separated their Kobold Bodyguards from Illfang and each other, making sure there was enough warning if any of the mobs changed tactics.

Nearby, Leafa shifted her weight from foot to foot, her blood pumping in anticipation. Asuna, on the other hand, was like a coiled spring, still but ready to shoot forth.

"Kiriko, help Seven." Diavel pointed with his free hand. "Then move to Five."

"Let's go!" Kiriko shot off, Asuna and Leafa following a step behind. Glancing at the Bodyguards behind Illfang, she saw that Five's was down to eighty percent, while Seven's was at three quarters. Normally, that'd be a good thing, if the players of that team weren't being reckless. "Sugu, agro control! Asuna, focus the left leg!"

"Understood!"

"Got it, Nee-chan!" Leafa shot forward, her Rage Spike parrying the kobold's cleaver before it could bite into a player frozen by an Art.

Asuna slipped in between the shocked players, striking the left knee with a Slant followed by a Horizontal combination. Kiriko followed up with the same combo, the combined damage forcing the monster's leg to fold. As the monster collapsed to its knee, the raven-haired swordswoman yelled out. "Burn it down now!"

As the members of Team Seven lashed art after art into the Bodyguard, forgoing any type of defense for a pure offensive attack, Kiriko watched the kobold's health meter quickly drop.

"Get back!" She cried out, getting most of Team Seven to back up except for one who was locked in a stunned state. The kobold let out a roar, swinging wildly with his cleaver, Leafa roaring in with a Vertical to deflect it centimeters above the player's head.

"It's frenzying, watch out!" The party leader of Seven called out a warning before starting to direct his team once more.

Watching the fight happen, Kiriko noticed something and pointed to her brunette companion. "Asuna, go high!"

"Right!" Asuna nodded, stepping back a few paces. "Leafa, you ready?"

The blonde dropped her sword, feeling the Art charge up. "Go for it!"

Asuna kicked forward into a blazing sprint, timing her last step to touch into the flat of the blonde's waiting blade. Forest green eyes flash as Leafa released her stored Vertical, flinging her friend into the air on a direct arc above the occupied Kobold Bodyguard.

Pulling her sword back, as if to stab it forward, Asuna's sword flashed and she rocketed down to drive the blade into the kobold's right eye. Landing her feet onto the monster's face, she rode the tipping kobold's body as it crashed to the stone floor, pulling her weapon loose and stepping off the dead monster as the dust settled.

"Heck yeah! That was awesome, Asuna-chan!" Leafa cheered, thrusting a fist into the air.

Kiriko glanced around the battlefield, before pointing at another Kobold Bodyguard. "Team Seven, heal up, then go help Team Six!"

"Right. What about you?" The party leader asked, already pulling out a roll of bandages.

"We're headed to Five. Watch out for any adds, just in case."

"Got it. Good luck!"

With that, Kiriko rushed off with her companions, finding Klein and his friends fighting conservatively, taking little damage but dealing little as well. Even still, the kobold was down to less than half health.

"What's wrong, Klein? Forgot how to use your sword?" Leafa called out, getting his friends to snicker at his expense.

"Oh, bite me, blondie." He grit back, deflecting a downward strike of the kobold's cleaver that bit into the stone below. Klein responded with a vertical to the monster's sword-arm before backing away. "You guys here to fight or talk?"

Kiriko and Asuna jumped in, merging with the flow of fighting with Klein and his friends, with Leafa taking more of a agro deflector role. This time, Kiriko waited just a little more before taking out it's leg with Asuna. Klein got the killblow with a Slant to its face.

Then Illfang bellowed in rage.

"Even teams on Illfang!" Diavel's voice called out over the din of combat. "Odds, keep an eye out for adds!"

The Teams Two and Four stayed in the fight, taking a beating against their bucklers and parrying the Chieftain's weapon, a savage looking sword that was taller than any player fighting him. As Six and Eight joined the melee, Illfang started adding sweeping strikes to his repertoire, each swing driving players back or diving out of the way.

Walking her way over towards the observing Diavel, he waved towards the melee before them. "Any thoughts?"

"If he's like the others, he's open from the air." Kiriko pointed out, drawing his cerulean eyes up.

"I saw your friend's trick." He commented as Illfang's first healthbar hit half. "But that's a trick you and you friends have practiced outside of combat."

"You're right." The girl agreed, admitting that the vast majority of players wouldn't be able to synchronize enough to perform it. "Didn't he have a sword and shield before?"

"Yes, that's something to keep a lookout for." Diavel nodded at the change before pointing to the side at the Bodyguard corpses. "They're probably going to revive at some point, so we'll have to keep an eye out."

"Things are going pretty good so far." Kiriko said, getting a sigh from the man beside her. "What?"

"I fear you may have jinxed us." The raid leader stated, eyeing the Boss's first healthbar nearing its end. "We'll find out soon."

The healthbar shattered and the Kobold Chieftain reared back and howled, a visible shockwave rocketing through the room, forcing the players to their knees in a stunned state.

"W-what is it d-doing?" Daivel forced out through clenched teeth, feeling like hundreds of kilos were pressing down on his back. He twitched, his head turning slightly to follow the boss as it trudged across the room, leaving struggling players behind it.

Reaching a downed Bodyguard, it raised its giant blade and brought it down with a sickening squelch. A moment later, the giant kobold boss held the severed leg in its massive hand.

Kiriko's blue eyes widened as she saw it. "I-it's eating t-them!"

The sounds of bones breaking and sinew tearing filled the room as the players started to shakily stand back up.

Gritting his teeth, Diavel pointed his wavering sword to the boss, who was finishing what remained of the leg, the rest of the Bodyguard shattering into shards. "Odd Teams, prepare to engage Illfang but be careful! We don't know what kind of buff he just gained! Even teams, heal up and study Illfang's moves for the next healthbar!"

With one last swallow, Illfang's meal was finished and it let out another howl, breaking whatever debuff the first one had done to the players.

"Odds, attack!"

Kiriko rushed in, Asuna flying in first with a driving Slant before Leafa's Rage Spike checked Illfang's weapon for the split second it took for Asuna to recover. One of the players from Team Three banged his blucker with his weapon in challenge, gaining the agro, a moment later.

Her Annealed Blade flashed as she drove it into Illfang's knee, trying to same tactic as his Bodyguards. She set her feet and the sword blew out with a downward Slant, quickly followed by a Horizontal. Kiriko felt the boss shift, unable to look as the Arts recovery held her in place.

Leafa let out a yell, her blade impacting Illfang's once more, the slab of metal driving into the stone beside her sister, enveloping her in a cloud of dust.

Finally able to move, Kiriko hopped on and ran up the sword and then up Illfang's arm. Reaching his shoulder, she let out a wordless cry, raising her sword high and bringing it down in a flash of light. She kicked off a moment later as Asuna took her spot with a Rage Spike jabbing directly into the Boss' right eye.

Kiriko touched down on the stone floor, seeing Asuna staying up to deliver a Slant to the monster's other eye before being shaken off. Klein caught the falling girl and sprinted out of the combat zone, allowing both of them to recover before returning to the fight.

Glancing at Illfang's healthbars, she saw the second was almost empty, showing the rest of the Odd teams had taken advantage of the Boss' staggered state.

"Get ready!" Diavel's voice called out just before the healthbar shattered, leading to another stunning howl.

Kiriko felt herself be pushed to her knees once more, gritting her teeth at the weight. Somewhere behind her, Illfang ate another of his Bodyguards, his mastication echoing through the eerily quiet room.

"H-he's getting f-faster w-with each one!" Diavel called out in warning, somehow able to force words out through the debuff.

A howl broke out, freeing Kiriko from the weight, allowing her to look back to see Diavel desperate parry of Illfang's sword. "Evens! Get in there!" She yelled out, pointing to their raid leader, shaking the indicated players out of their shock.

Tiffany deflected the next blow, Illfang attacking again while Diavel was off balance, protecting him for the split second it took for the arriving players to take over the agro.

"Thanks." He gave a nod to the dark skinned girl, quickly evacuating the area. Turning back to the melee, he yelled out and pointed with his sword. "Pull him to that wall! As far as you can!"

He waved to the Odd players. "Gather around! Get as close to the fight as you can without being too close!"

"You have a new plan?" Kiriko asked, trotting up to the raid leader.

"Illfang is getting much faster at eating his Bodyguards." Asuna pointed out, getting Diavel to nod at her.

"Exactly. I was closest to him and barely had time to react when the debuff dropped.

Kiriko narrowed her eyes and surveyed the room. "So, by getting as far away from the bodies, we have more time to react."

"That's…" He trailed off, narrowing his eyes. He waved at the nearby redheaded party leader. "Team Five, get in there! Two's getting wrecked!"

"On it!" Klein led his friends into battle once more, taking the pressure off the bleigered team who stepped back to perform first aid.

"Be prepared to step in." Diavel informed Kiriko's party, pulling equipping a small shield himself. "We're going to need everyone to rotate faster. He's just putting out too much damage now."

"It's going to become a free for all soon if he gets any faster." Tiffany warned, adjusting the grip on her sword, her wife glancing from her to the boss.

"Great… What's he going to do once he hits the last healthbar, eat both his dead friends at once?" Leafa sarcastically asked, blinking when she saw the thoughtful looks on her sister's and Diavel's faces. "Really?!"

"Anything's possible right now, Sugu." Her older sibling stated, cracking her neck.

"Unfortunately…" The cerulean knight agreed with a grimace, flexing his blade hand. "Team Seven, replace Team Four!" He called out, getting the players to swap out in a simi-orderly fashion. Grimacing, he glanced up at the Boss' healthbar. "Three, follow us in!" He yelled before charging into the fray, the rest of his party right behind him.

Kiriko slid between Illfang's legs, slicing at them with normal swings, even as she heard Diavel order the Evens to heal up. She had to roll to the side a moment later as the Boss nearly crushed her with a foot, the impact shaking the surrounding players.

"Nice of you to join the party!" Klein bit out, grunting as his blade blocked a fetal strike and only took off a chunk of his health instead.

"Less talk, more fight!" She yelled back, leaping over a reverse sweeping strike, Gillian blocking it with her shield before it could hit Asuna.

It was quick, but felt like minutes, when Illfang bellowed once more, stunning the raid to the ground.

This time, Kiriko had a perfect view of the Boss leap through the air to land next to one of the corpses and consume it, this time without even cutting a limb off like it did before. Blood flowed down Illfang's chest as he ravenously ate his ally's body.

Letting out another howl, she was only halfway to standing when she realised what was about to happen. "Run!"

Players scattered at the cry, Illfang blowing through those that weren't fast enough, refusing to slow down even as he slammed into the wall, a shower of rock and dust enveloping the area.

Players groaned and tried to get up as Kiriko glanced to the ones left standing, not seeing Diavel. Grimacing, she pointed towards the cloud of dust Illfang would soon emerging from. "Dodge tank only! No Sword Arts!"

Illfang burst out of the dust, a roar on its lips, as it swung it's giant blade with wild abandon. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to its attacks, just raw unadulterated speed and power behind the swings.

"Get… Get it near the wall!" Diavel's voice choked out as he staggered out of the dust cloud.

Gritting her teeth, Kiriko hopped back, staying just inside of range but hopefully triggering the Boss to step towards her to strike. When it did, the others started mimicking the move to moderate success. The main issue was, by luring him in a specific direction, it limited the arc of room they had to dodge around it.

"Get ready to strike with everything you've got on my mark!" Diavel's voice rolled out once more, though clearer this time. It took a moment for her to realise it was because she was right next to him, the raid leader's back up against the wall and well within the Boss' attack range.

The cerulean knight bashed his sword against his shield, yelling out a challenge to Illfang. Illfang responded in kind, bellowing back and driving his sword at the man. Diavel dove out of the way in the last second, covering himself in more dust but avoiding being impaled by mere millimeters. "Now!"

The rest of the raid surged in, blades flashing from all directions as Illfang's sword was wedged handle deep into the wall Diavel just stood in front of only a moment before.

Illfang let out a furious howl, physically knocking the players into the air to land on their backs with the force of the shockwave. Ripping his blade out of the masonry in a shower of stone and even more dust, the Boss leaped to the last remaining Bodyguard to shove its clawed hand into the body and pull out his minion's bloody heart.

"Get up and get ready!" Diavel commanded, making most of the players realise they weren't weighed down by a debuff. The knight pointed at different teams. "You, circle right! You, go left. You, follow them and keep-"

"Look out!" Leafa's voice cried out, as she bodychecked the distracted raid leader.

Kiriko heard a banshee shrieking in object rejection as the segmented blade pierced the blonde's body before slamming into the wall, the girl's body shattering into a thousand shards.

Then she realised it was her voice shrieking and that her lungs were on fire. Somehow taking a breath without stopping, Kiriko managed to shape it into words. "I'll fucking kill you!"

She leapt to the side and dashed forward, Illfang's sword-whip ripping up the stone where she wasn't any longer.

Her screams followed her, a second voice joining in her wake, as she rolled under the next whip strike and pushed the next aside with her black blade. Then she was upon the monster, dodging under it's grasping hand and rolling through it's stomping feet, sword flashing as fast as she could swing it.

Another blade joined hers as they cut the leg out from under the monster, like lumberjacks cutting down a redwood.

As the monster fell forward, she hopped upon its back and leapt above its head, letting out a wordless scream of pure rage as she shot down from the air like the dark finger of death to drive her black instrument of murder into the monster's skull.

The beast shattered, dropping her to land on hands and knees, her sword clattering to the stone floor, it's metallic ringing piercing the ensuing silence like a bell tolling in the night.

Arms encircled her and she grabbed hold, releasing her quiet tears into their lap.

"...-ko! … be…over...fine." A voice tickled her mind through the haze until everything snapped into focus. "She's fine!"

"W-what?" The black-haired Kirigaya croaked out, her vocal cords feeling like molten lead.

"She's just back at the Church." Asuna reminded the girl, who's head still rested upon her lap. "Suguha is fine!"

"Is she okay?" Klein asked, as he kneeled down next to the two girls.

"She probably lost herself in the battle." Daivel's voice rumbled into her ears. "I saw it a few times in the Beta. It's a normal, if extreme, response during times of high stress, when the mind just turns off and runs no autopilot. At least that's the best way to explain it."

"How do you know that?" Klein narrowed his eyes at the man.

"I'm taking psychology classes in university." Diavel shrugged before looking around. "We need to move on to the next floor and link the Teleport Gate. Do you think she can walk?" He asked Asuna, seeing as Kiriko's struggled to say just one word moments earlier.

"I don't think so." The brunette shook her head, running a hand over her friend's trembling arms.

"Well… there's nothing for it, then." Klein said, reaching over and picking the shivering girl into a bridal carry. "Dynamm, run ahead and message Leafa so she's waiting by the Gate."

"On it!" The pirate looking man nodded and started towards the exit.

"You, you and you, take your teams and get him outside as fast a possible!" Diavel pointed to two men. "Go! Now!" He bellowed before turning to the rest. "You, tell the others outside to head back to the Town of Beginnings. They don't need to see this. The rest of you, we're heading up, only as fast as Klein thinks he should go."

o0O0o

"What the heck happened?!" Leafa demanded, seeing Kiriko sleeping form cradled against Klein's chest.

"She saw you die and then went crazy… crazy awesome but… yeah." The redhead's voice lamely dropped off from the green eyed glare that would have killed if it had a damage stat. "Sorry."

"Thank you for the save and… I'm sorry about your sister." Diavel sighed and ran a gloved hand through his long hair. "I'll set you up with a hotel room till she recovers."

"Thanks but we have enough mo-"

"I insist!" He cut her off, already in his menu. A bag of coins dropped into his hand, which he placed in the blonde's. "Let me know if you need more. I… I need to think about some things." With that, the kightly man walked off.

"Come on. We need to get her to bed." Asuna spoke up, sending Klein a pointed look.

"Hey, send us a message when she's awake, alright?" Tiffany requested, her wife nodding next to her. The black woman sent a friend request to the brunette, who immediately accepted it. "We'll be in town for a few days just relaxing, so message us if you need anything."

"Thank you." She waved as the married couple walked off to find their own lodge or whatever their plan was.

"I ain't saying she's heavy, but I can't hold her all day." Klein spoke up, shifting his load slightly.

Leafa just gave him another glare. "Shut up, Klein."

o0O0o

28 Nov 2022 - Day 22

"Any news?" The afro sporting Dale asked across the table, popping a slice of fried apple into his mouth.

"Nah. She's still out of it." Klein answered, taking a swig of his ale, already feeling a mild buzz from their time in the tavern.

"Damn… That sucks." Harry said in response, taking off his cap and running a hand through his dark brown hair.

Issin finished off his mug of ale with a loud sigh. "Probably pulled all sorts of things with those crazy moves she was pulling out of her ass. I'd say it's a blessing she's not awake right now."

"Dude, don't say things like that." Klein grimaced at the picture painted by the eldest of the them. "It's depressing, man!"

"He's probably not wrong, though." Kuni pointed out, biting down on a cheese covered potato wedge. "Remember that bike accident I had?"

"Yeah, they had you in a coma for a week." Dynamm sipped at his glass of red wine. "I thought you were going to die on that street. You looked like shit."

"Felt like it, too." The athletic man agreed with a flash of a grin before turning grim once more. "Seriously, I felt like they had Dale jump on me until I was flat and then reinflated me when they woke me up." He said, ignoring Dale's annoyed yell.

"Damn…" Klein finished off his mug and slammed it to the table, rattling the other empty mugs. "Everyone else is already exploring the second floor but it just doesn't feel right to do it with her out of action, you know?"

"Hey, I'm with you there, Klein." Dynamm gave his friend a nod. "Besides, resurrection system or not, we just got through a life or death battle by the skin of our teeth. We're men, not machines. I think we deserve some time off to relax."

"Yeah, I get you." The redhead pulled off his bandanna and ran a hand through his hair. "It just feels weird, you know?"

"Of course it feels weird." Issin agreed, accepting another mug of ale from the waitress and handing her some Col. "You're here drinking with us while your girlfriend is injured."

Klein gave the older man a flat look. "Really? You're going with that tired joke?"

"Well, excuse me for being tired of seeing you mope around ever since the damn Boss fight!" Issin slammed his mug down, causing Dale to yell at the ale splashing him. "Grow a pair of fucking balls and deal with it like a man! Puberty's long since gone, so stop acting like a lovesick boy! You already told us she's a lesbian, for fucks sake!" Issin ran a tired hand down his face. "God damnit, Klein, I'm worried about her too but there's a difference between being worried and whatever the fuck you're doing and it's starting to really piss me off!"

The table fell silent as the 'old man' of the group finished ranting, allowing the rest of the tavern's conversations to roll over the seated men.

"Hey, you hear about the 'Black Death'?" Some guy asked nearby.

Anything else was lost as Klein shot up, his chair clattering to the floor. "I'm getting some air." He told them as he pushed through the celebrating players to finally reach the fresh evening air outside. Taking a deep breath in, he let it out slowly, trying to find his calm.

"Fuck me…"

o0O0o

Asuna opened the door and blinked at seeing Klein standing there. "Klein? What are you doing here?"

He just gave a grin with a helpless shrug. "Wish I knew, just figured I should come over or something. See how things are going." He lifted a hand, showing the bag hanging below it. "I brought some snacks and drinks."

"Well, come in." The brown haired girl stepped out of the way to allow the man in. "Leafa's out for a walk right now, so it's just us."

"That's fine." Klein admitted, setting the bag on the small table in the huge hotel room. Starting to unpack it, he glanced towards the king sized bed that held a single figure under the covers. "How's he doing?"

"She's still asleep." Asuna moved over, taking the folded rag off the unconscious girl's forehead and rinsing it out. "The fever's gone down, at least."

"Wait, fever? Leafa never said anything about a fever!" Klein said in surprise.

"She didn't?" Asuna blinked pretty brown eyes in confusion. "Maybe she didn't want to worry you?"

"Maybe…" Klein hedged as he flopped into a chair and popped open a bottle to take a swig. He watched Asuna from across the room as she place the freshly cooled fold of cloth atop Kiriko's brow once more. He took another drink and let out a sigh. "This is so messed up."

"How so?" Asuna blinked, pausing in her stroking of raven hair.

"The kid, he saved our asses at the end of that fight." Klein waved towards the sleeping subject of conversation. "Sure, you were in the mix with him but the one to do the deed, that's all him." Klein brought the bottle halfway up before grimacing and setting it on the table. "Damn… every time I it comes up, all I can think about is him screaming bloody murder as he damn near executed that boss. It doesn't help that he's literally the talk of the town."

Asuna just let out a thoughtful hum, resuming the brushing of her friend's hair.

"And the thing about it that sucks so much is the fact that after all that, I'm basically worthless for helping him back!" Klein leaned back and groaned into his hands. "I dunno… It feels like I let him down or something but I know for damn sure I couldn't do half the crazy shit he did at the end."

The redheaded man just sat there, slumped in the chair for a while, listening to the lowly hummed melody that ghosted through the room. As the minutes passed by, he grabbed the bottle once more and just relaxed with his eyes closed, sipping his drink while enjoying the bittersweet melody.

Eventually, the lullaby faded away, leaving the room feeling empty once more.

Cracking an eye, he watched the young teen slowly care for the sleeping girl. More importantly, though, he watched Asuna's eyes through it all.

"You know underneath all that, he's a boy, right?" He softly asked, leaning forward to place his elbows on his knees.

"She'll always be my Kiriko." Asuna answered with instead.

Klein felt old at that moment. "Not if we clear the game." He felt even older when he saw the girl's hand hitch, if only for the barest of a fraction of a second.

The silence that followed was oppressive and suffocating.

"Why…" Klein tried to think of the right words, the buzz not helping in this aspect at all. "What's wrong with him being a boy?"

Asuna's hand's froze around the rag she'd just rinsed, clenching it so hard Klein could see her whitened knuckles from where he sit. "I…"

"Nevermind. I don't need to know. It's just the drink talking." He waved his question away and took another drag from the bottle.

He heard her let out a shaky breath and whisper out a, "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it… I'm just worried about little bro." He said with a self deprecating laugh. "I'm a real shitty Aniki."

"Maybe you claiming he's your little brother is why he's still asleep." Leafa's voice cut in as she walked into the room. "Maybe he's just too embarrassed by his big brother to face reality."

"Oh, wow! The words! They cut deep, like right to my heart!" Klein replied with a cheerful laugh. "I'm not sure if I want him as a little bro if that means you're part of the package."

"Thanks for that. From the bottom of my heart." The blonde smiled, letting them know it was all in jest. She glanced at the snacks and drinks scattered across the table and the obviously inebriated Klein. "What's all this?"

Klein just shrugged. "I don't know… just felt the need to see the kid and figured coming empty handed would be a real shitty move, you know?"

"Well, thanks for that." She sit down and grabbed a bottle herself, popping it and taking a long drink. "Wheew! What was that!"

Klein glanced at the bottle she was holding and chuckled. "That's spicy wine, so you're done for the night."

"What?" Asuna blinked at that. "What do you mean by that?"

"Oh yeah, you weren't there." He glanced at the quickly smiling blonde. "Hey, don't tell him I let his kid sister have alcohol, okay? Just… keep her here in the bedroom until she sleeps it off, okay?"

"Um… alright." The brown haired girl agreed, still not fully understanding the issue. Her older brother had slipped her a little wine every now and then back home, so Kiriko's sister having some shouldn't even be a problem, in her mind.

"Cool, cool." Klein leaned back before scrunching his brows at the quickly toasted girl across the table from him. "So, what have you been getting into? Looks a little more than 'going for a walk'."

"You're not my dad, Klein!" The girl declared after taking another drink from the bottle. "What I do with Diavel isn't any of your business!"

That got Klein's eyes to snap open so quickly Asuna swore she heard it from across the room. "What?! What were you doing with Diavel and why are your clothes looking like that?!" The redheaded man demanded, carefully and methodically placing his near empty bottle onto the table.

Leafa, for her part, just glanced down at her rumpled and dirt stained clothes, as if seeing them for the first time. "Oh… I guess we got a little carried away."

"Sugu… how are you feeling." Asuna asked cautiously, flicking her eyes between her and Klein, who's grip on his own knees were starting make the tendons in his hands pop.

"Oh, I'm sore all over." Leafa freely admitted, taking another drink and smiling. "But I feel good and he thanked me after-"

"Excuse me! I have to be going!" Klein loudly declared, shooting up from his seat and strapping his sword onto his belt.

"So soon?" Leafa asked sadly at the man rushing to exit the room. "Why?"

"Because I need to murder a blue knight." He said, the door closing solidly behind him.

"Blue knight?" The blonde asked the girl in love with her brother.

Asuna worried her bottom lip torn between joining Klein and staying with the drunken girl. "Diavel, I believe."

"Why?" Leafa whined. "Now I'll have to find another sparring partner…" She stated dejectedly before flopping back, loudly snoring an instant later.

Asuna just blinked her brown eyes, running the event that just occurred through her mind before breaking out laughter.

On the bed beside the girl, the sleeper awoke to find the world shaking and opened bleary eyes to see her friend nearly doubled over with laughter. "Asuna… what funny?" She managed to ask past the cotton in her head.

"Kiriko!" Asuna cried out in surprise. "You're awake!"

"Hnn…" The girl blinked slowly, eyes obviously having trouble focusing on the brown haired girl. "...tired."

"Then go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up." She said, brushing some hair out of the girl's face with her fingers.

"Good…stay…me" Whatever the girl wanted to say was lost as sleep overtook her once more, this time with a serene smile on her lips.

END OF CHAPTER 5

o0O0o

A/N

I had fun writing this, the main reason I write fanfiction. Hope you guys have a good time reading it.

So, Diavel. He dies so often that I think he should have a punch card with death for a free coffee or something. Well, he escapes this time… or at least until Klein catches up with him. XD

I actually like exploring side characters, such as Klein's friends and Klein himself, depending if you think he's a side character or not. (PS - he's not) Issin basically has my thoughts on anyone wanting a Kiriko/Klein. I also hope I made it obvious who the 'One True Pairing' is in this fic. (PS - There are no OTP's, just personal preferences)

But yeah, as of right now, plan on this being a Kiriko/Asuna story but without it being 'in your face' about it. Or at least that's what I'm working towards.

About Kiriko's 'injury', remember that this is 'real' now. Sure humans can pull some really super-human stuff, like wives lifting cars off trapped husbands or people punching out car windows to free trapped passengers, but they always pay for it. Kiriko went and shredded her muscles to murder that boss at the end, so you have to pay your dues somehow.

It also allowed me to have the characters interact without Kiriko being in the conversation because they were interacting because of her. Win/Win.

See you next chapter!

(PS - Oh yeah, about the Transformation Potion thing... I've got it figured out in my head now. Thanks for the messages!)


	6. Chapter 6

Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

02 Dec 2022 - Day 26

"Hey, kid! Good to see you awake!" Tiffany gave a wave at the approaching Adventurer before letting out a whistle. ""Uh-oh, dear. I think our young friend has reached that stage of her life."

"Next thing you know, she'll be wearing black lipstick and nail polish, while putting on way too much eyeshadow." Gilliam pitched in with a chuckle. "It's when the music about 'how unfair the world is' hits and she starts pining for a bad-boy that we really have to worry about her."

"That last one will never be a problem." Kiriko put her hands to her hips, the long midnight black coat flowing in the light breeze. "And please don't start, I'm getting enough from the others as it is." She requested, sitting down at the table, smoothing her coat tails beneath her.

"Well, you usually have to watch out for people going on killing sprees AFTER they go 'black trenchcoat', no the other way around." The black skinned woman commented, getting a slap to the shoulder from her wife. "What?! Just look at her! Black coat, black sword, black crop-top, black mini-skirt with a grade-a black Zettai Ryouiki… hell, I'd put money on her having black underclothes, too!" She waved a hand at the blushing teen. "The only spot of color on her is her eyes!"

"Yes, dear, but it's not nice to point it out." Gilliam softly chastising his husband but not bothering to rebuke her statement.

"They're pants!" Kiriko declared, face growing red, pulling down slightly on the skirt's mid-thigh hem.

"Dear, I know you're going through a lot of changes recently…" Gilliam gave her a commiserating look.

Kiriko shook her head, sending her ponytail flying back and forth with the sharp movements, a hand shooting up to open the player menu. "No, I'm serious! Look!" She changed the visibility setting and flipped it around.

Tiffany stood up and leaned over the table to read it. "Really? 'Black Swordsman's Pants'?"

"See?!" The raven-haired girl cried out in vindication. "These are like the fifth pair of 'pants' I've tried!" She used sarcastic looking finger quotes, with a disgruntled breath, around the word. "These are actually the closest to actual pants I've actually found and I'm too tired to care anymore!"

"Well, dear, you aren't the only one with 'pants' issues." Gilliam said with a grin.

"Kathy…" Her husband warned with a look, getting the blonde man's grin to show teeth.

"Why, Andy gave up after the third pair." Gilliam waved a hand to the still standing Tiffany. Kiriko easily seeing the thigh length skin-tight tan cargo shorts on the dark skinned woman, a great distance of ebony skin before the tops of black socks hinted at the edge of the table.

"Honey, if you don't shut up, I'm going to try my hand at cooking again."

"Oh, I see how it is." Kiriko grinned, planting an elbow on the table and resting her chin in her hand. "I'm fair game but you?"

Tiffany rolled her dark eyes. "Okay, I'm a hypocrite but I wasn't just doing it to have a laugh."

"'Just'?" Kiriko arched a thin black eyebrow at the admission.

"It was to see how you are up here." Tiffany tapped the side of her own head, sitting back down in her chair. "I have to pay attention to stuff like that in my line of work. Like the fact that you didn't deny the whole black underwear thing."

The raven clothed girl waved it away as unimportant with her free hand. "Oh, I've had those for weeks."

That blase admission had Tiffany blink in surprise. "Okay, I guess you're adjusting pretty well then."

"I wouldn't say adjusting, just… coping." Kiriko glanced away while scratching a cheek with a finger. "With black, it looks like shadows if someone sees."

"Huh… I didn't think of that." The older woman cocked her head to the side, sending her curls waving.

"As much fun as it is watching two pretty ladies talk fashion," Gilliam ignored the two flat stares, "maybe we should move on to asking how you're actually doing?"

"Physically, I'm fine." She gave the blonde man a thankful nod. "I mean, I had trouble walking for the first hour or so after waking up but my Combat Healing finally sorted that out." She let out an annoyed breath, dropping her cheek into a hand once more. "Not that those two care! They treat me like I'm about to keel over any second or something! I can't even go to the toilet without one or both of them trying to 'help out'! It's getting really annoying!"

She pursed her lips as the two adults across from her burst out laughing. "At least it's funny to someone…"

"Oh, dear, that just means they care for you." Gilliam reached over to pat the young teen's arm. "Andy did the same thing whenever I got even the smallest of sniffles when we first got married."

"Speaking of those two," Tiffany quickly changed the subject, a hint of a blush on her cheeks, "where are they? With what you're saying, I figured they'd be tagging along."

Kiriko let out a smirk. "Oh, I called in a favor from Diavel. When I left them, he was fighting them both off to practice how to defend against two attackers at once."

The ebony skinned woman grinned, pearly teeth shining in contrast. "Oh, our little girl has some claws!" She let out a giggle at the girl's satisfied grin. "I just have to wonder how you're going to talk your way out of things once they find out you ditched them."

That brought Kiriko short before she shrunk down into her coat. "Um… I haven't thought that far ahead…" She turned her pleading blue eyes towards the grinning woman. "Do you think…"

"Not happening." Tiffany denied without losing her knowing smile. "You're not using us as your scapegoat."

"I can pay!" Kiriko tried desperately, hand ready to open her menu, holding hope as the black skinned woman's face turned contemplative.

That line of escape died when Gilliam placed a hand on his husband's arm. "I think you're better off just talking to them. It doesn't have to be complicated." The older woman turned man advised the teen. "Just let them know you needed to breath and just talk. You'll be surprised how well that works."

"So why didn't you ever just 'talk' to me?" Tiffany gave her wife an accusing look, blinking as Gilliam tapped her forehead.

"Because you, dear husband, have a skull thicker than the bar railing and it was the only way to get the message through properly." He said with a smile.

Kiriko glanced to left with the message notification sound, wincing as a second one pinged a moment later. And then a third… and fourth. "I think I need to go. They found out I'm not there."

"Good luck! Remember, you don't have junk for them to kick right now!" Tiffany unhelpfully supplied, getting another light slap to the shoulder from her wife.

"Honestly…" He rolled his eyes. "As for you, remember what I said, just talking things out and being honest works wonders. Trust me, I'm a woman."

"You know that's not true, Kathy." Tiffany wiggled her eyebrows. "You proved how 'manly' you are just last night!"

"I'vegottogoseeyouaroundbye!" The raven-haired girl shot up out of her chair and escaped as fast as she could.

"That was mean, Andy." Gilliam said, unable to keep the smile from his lips. "Hilarious but mean."

"What? You're saying you weren't?" The shorter woman wiggled her eyebrows. "Want to try again? Practice makes perfect, you know."

"You're incorrigible, you know that!" Gilliam rolled his blue eyes but flagged down their waiter. "Let me get the bill."

o0O0o

03 Dec 2022 - Day 27

"Cheers!" Klein raised his mug of ale, tapping them in the collective toasting of drinks, an echoing cheer from around the table. "Damn, it's good to see you up and about, kid."

"It's good to be able to move on my own." Kiriko agreed, also a subtle message to her sister and bestfriend, who'd backed off a little after a long and sometimes heated discussion. "So, how are you handling the second floor?"

"Honestly? It's kind of boring." Dynamm stated, tapping the table with a finger. "I mean, yeah it's a beautiful place but it's just a bunch of animals up there. There only so many times you can fight bears and giant wasps before it gets old."

"Yeah, it was a bit of a letdown in the Beta, too. Fighting Illfang and then back to normal animals? But there are Taurus… You know, Minotaurs closer to this floor's Labyrinth" Kiriko pointed out, getting a few thoughtful looks. If she had to guess, they were going to try and find this new mob type tomorrow.

"Oh, hey! You know what the next Floor Boss is, then, too!" Dale declared, pointing his fork spearing a slice of candied peach on it at her.

Issin nodded in realisation. "Knowing in advance would help us look for equipment useful against it."

"Well… I'm not sure how useful it'll be after what happened with Illfang." She hedged, noticing the table grow somber at the mention of the last boss encounter. She coughed lightly into a fist. "A-anyways! It's a giant minotaur! Don't remember the name but it just charged all over the arena. The hardest part was getting it to stand still long enough to damage it."

Leafa leaned back and took a long drink from her mug. "Yeah, but it probably has something stupid now, like shooting lightning out of its horns or sucking the life from players to heal itself."

"You know Cardinal is going to give it those things just cause you said them, right?" Asuna poked the blonde in the side of the head, getting a squawk of indignation and a laugh from the rest of the table.

"It's not my fault I'm prosthetic!" Leafa defended herself, only to get another round of laughter.

"Prophetic, Leafa-chan." Issin corrected the teen.

Klein grinned. "Yeah. Great way to break stereotypes there, blondie."

"Oi! Bite me, carrot-top!" She fired back with her own grin.

"You two should really stop flirting in front of Kiriko." Asuna softly chastised, getting the pair to almost spit out their drinks. "Just look how distraught she is!"

Said raven-haired girl just quirked an eyebrow at the serene looking brunette girl. "Yeah, I can barely contain my horror." She deadpanned.

"A-a-chan! Don't do that to me! I almost died!" The blonde cried out, wiping at her chin with a napkin. Across the table, Dale just slapped at a coughing Klein's back as the rest laughed.

Taking a breath, the redhead sent a glare to the calm brunette sipping her drink with both hands. "Yeah, Asuna! Don't joke like that! She's total Jailbait and I don't need those kind of problems!"

"I seem to remember you pining over a certain black haired girl..." Harry innocently reminded, his grin displaying the innocence as a crock of shit.

Klein just dropped his head to the table with a groan at the reminder. "Why is it 'pick on Klein day' again?"

"Hey, Kuni, what day is it?" Dale asked across the table.

"One that ends in 'y'." He academically stated.

Klein just groaned. "You guys suck."

"Nee-chan! I'm going to get the MVP bonus next boss fight, so you better watch out!" Leafa suddenly declared, surprising the others at the table.

Klein looked up and let out another groan. "God damnit… she did it again…"

Leafa took another swig of her drink, leaving Dynamm blinking at the spot his mug used to be.

"Sugu…" Kiriko palmed her face, as her little sister jumped up onto her chair and stepped a foot onto the table.

"You better watch out, cause I'm gonna win it and it's going to be super awesome!" She loudly declared, getting cheers and whistles from the surrounding tables.

Asuna gently tried to pull her friend down off the table, hissing out an embarrassed, "Leafa-chan, they can see your panties."

"Oi! Quit looking, you bastards!" The blonde commanded, shaking a angrily fist at anyone looking.

Klein gave her a flat look. "Then get off the table, you damn bottle fairy!"

"Please, kill me now." Kiriko begged, sliding down in her seat.

Issin just chuckled at her side. "After watching what you did to Illfang? Not enough money in the world for me to take that job."

It only went downhill from there.

o0O0o

07 Dec 2022 - Day 31

"Hello!" Leafa greeted with wave, walking up towards the miner who paused in his work. "We heard you were looking for some help."

"Aye, I did." He man slowly said, looking over the three young women before him, seeing the greens and browns of the forest, the white and blues of the sky and the colors of midnight. "Brother left years back. Had a fight with Dad."

"Do you have any idea where he went?" Asuna asked, assuming the miner wanted them to find his brother.

"Hmm…" The man rubbed at his dirt covered face with a gloved hand, taking enough time thinking that Leafa started shifting her feet slightly. "Yamui always said he'd hunt down the king of the mountain."

"So he went after this 'king'? Leafa asked, a hint of impatience to her voice.

"Maybe." The man slowly shrugged. "Just up and left one day. Never saw him again."

"And you want us to either find him or find out what happened to him." Kiriko stated rather than asked.

"Yeup." He slowly drawled.

"What do we get if we do this?" Leafa asked, crossing her arms.

"Hmm…" The man stopped to think once again, getting the girl to grind her teeth at how slow this was going. If the man even noticed, he didn't show it, still rubbing his chin before nodding. "I could teach you to dig."

"Deal!" Kiriko reached out and shook his hand after he pulled off the glove to reveal relatively clean skin.

"Thank ye." The miner nodded before turning and getting back to digging with his pickaxe.

Finally out of the mine and under the setting sun once more, Leafa turned to her sister and threw her arms out. "What was that!?"

"What was what?" Kiriko quirked an eyebrow at the blonde.

"That!" Leafa pointed back to the mineshaft they'd just rode up on. "'Teach us to dig'? What kind of reward is that?"

"It is a little odd, Kiriko-chan." Asuna stated with a look.

"Guys… we just found the Mining Master for the game." The raven-haired girl pointed out. "Think about how much Col we'll save mining our own upgrade materials while hunting. Not to mention how much Argo will pay to find out about this."

"And there's the Nee-chan I know and love!" Leafa wrapped an arm around her shorter sibling, getting Asuna to giggle at them. "And I bet you know exactly where we have to go, too. Am I right?"

"I do." Kiriko nodded, walking towards the Gate with Leafa still holding on to her. "You do, too."

"What? I do?" The blonde blinked in surprise.

o0O0o

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" She cried out, throwing her hands skyward. "This is some sort of joke!"

"Why do you think I knew it was here in the first place?" Kiriko smirked, walking towards the old hunter's hut.

Asuna flicked her brown eyes between the two sisters. "Um… What's going on?"

"This…" Leafa jabbed a finger at the pile of soon to be burning wreckage. "This place is the one I told you about! That shack!"

Asuna blinked. "Oh." She looked at the exterior with a different view. "It's very… rustic."

"It's a rundown shack in the middle of the mountains that SOMEONE decided we should camp in for A WEEK!" Leafa loudly directed towards the girl already rummaging around inside as she entered the structure.

Kiriko just rolled her eyes. "You're the one that forgot to buy a mat to go under your sleeping bag. That's not my fault."

"Because I didn't know I needed one!" The blonde cried back.

"Oh, quit your whining and help me look for a clue or something." Her older sister directed, opening another dresser drawer to root through it. "I can't remember what it required last time.

"Fine! Uhg…" Leafa rolled her eyes but started looking through the worn footlocker by the destroyed bed.

Asuna just wandered around, letting the sisters perform their search, more curious than anything at the nicknacks the hunter seemed to own before his presumed death. A couple bows that had rotted with disuse, a pair of cracked goggles, some animal teeth in a small homemade display.

The brunette blinked, reaching out and picking up a small painting that depicted a sleek snow-white cougar perched on a spike of rock jutting out of the earth.

"Is this the 'King of the Mountain'?" Asuna asked, showing off the painting to her companions.

"Good find, Asuna!" Kiriko congratulated with a nod, glancing at her quest list. "Okay, now we just need to find and defeat it and bring the 'King's Tooth' back to the Mining Master."

"Well, come on! Let's find this King and dethrone him! I'm not spending another night in this shack if I don't have to!" Leafa declared, marching back out into the sunlight to hunt down her quarry.

Asuna just glanced at the painting once more, noting the dark background that made the white mountain cat stand out. "Do you want to tell her that it only comes out at night?"

"Nah." Kiriko grinned widely at the brunette. "She'll figure it out eventually and, I don't know about you but, I can't wait to see her reaction."

Asuna just giggled at the older sister's words, following her outside.

o0O0o

"Don't let it escape!" Leafa cried out as she ran, slipping on the muddy path before regaining her footing.

Kiriko's blue eyes flashed in the darkness before pointing up a rock face. "It's up there! Asuna!"

"Right!" She nodded, running up and onto the flat of the Annealed Blade. The sudden acceleration whipped her rain slick hair behind her as she flew above the ridgeline, spotting the white cougar below. Her sword flashed in the night, drawing the great cat's gaze. "Ha!"

The King leapt away, leaving Asuna to drive her rapier into the stone behind it.

Caught mid air, the white feline had nowhere to run when Leafa appeared from below, her store bought greatsword already in position for a Downfall Cascade. The downward slash left a shining yellow crescent in the night air as the strike hurled the beast to the ground below.

And the waiting Kiriko.

Sword flashing red, she slashed through the cat twice in upper diagonal swings, juggling the beast in the air, before slamming it to the rocks to shatter into shards with a decisive downward slice of her glowing blade.

Leafa landed a moment later, her back impacting the rocks with a pained cry as her healthbar dropped to the yellow from the single impact.

"Sugu, are you okay?"

"Yeah." She flashed a thumbs up before letting her hand drop. "Just gonna lie her for a bit, though."

"Eyaa!" Asuna's voice cried out, jerking Kiriko's eyes skyward to see the girl slip from the edge. Sprinting over, she leapt up and caught Asuna in her arms, sliding across the ground as her boots touched down, heels digging small furrows in the mud. Being set down, Asuna let out a breath. "Thank you."

"No problem."

"Oh, I see how it is!" Leafa groaned, pushing herself to standing, brown mud covering most of her green dress. "You'll catch your girlfriend but not your own sister!"

"I was locked in Arts Stun!" Kiriko defended herself before blinking at seeing Asuna's blush. "And we're just friends!"

"Nice delay there, Nee-chan." The blonde grinned before wincing at her back popping, seeing her health back slowly refill with Combat Healing skill.

Asuna sneezed, drawing the sisters' gazes.

"We need to get out of the rain and warm up." Kiriko stated, looking down and shaking the water off her dark coat. She was already soaked underneath, though, due to all the fighting but at least it blocked the chill night wind.

"Great…" Leafa sighed, strapping her sword across her back once more. "Back to the shack."

Asuna shivered and sneezed.

o0O0o

"Home, sweet home." Leafa let out with a sigh, stepping into the hunter's shack.

"I'll get the fire started. Why don't you two dry off." Kiriko offered, already tossing tinder and logs into the heater stove.

"Right." Leafa started pulling towels from her inventory. "Asuna, I'll dry your hair."

"T-thank y-ou." Asuna shivered before sneezing. Having the least layers of clothes out of the three, thus the least protection to the elements, her condition wasn't a surprise to the blonde.

By the time Kiriko had the fire going well enough to start warming the room, Leafa had the sneezing brunette stripped and wrapped up in towels and a blanket. The blonde was wrapping her long hair in a towel as well.

"Hey, Sugu, bring out your sleeping bag." Kiriko directed, doing the same. Her sister shrugged, spending the moment it took to materialise the equipment. "Thanks."

A few minutes later, after Kiriko combined the sleeping bags to make one large one, they lay snuggled together for warmth, a shivering Asuna in between the Kirigaya siblings as they rode out the storm.

o0O0o

08 Dec 2022 - Day 32

Leafa looked on with satisfaction at the pile of wooden wreckage, sheathing her greatsword and patting her hands clean with a job well done.

Her sister just rolled her eyes. "Was that really necessary?"

"Yes. Yes, it was."

o0O0o

10 Dec 2022 - Day 34

The Taurus King shattered into crystalline shards.

Cheers rang out in the cleared lair, a 'Congratulations' window appearing before each player, recognizing their achievement and marking Diavel as the MVP of the battle.

Turning towards the man, Kiriko saw the surrounding players already patting him on the back or trying to shake his hand in congratulations. Eventually, she made her way up to him, reaching out and having her hand enveloped by his larger gloved grip. She smiled up at him. "Welcome to the club!"

"I hope those aren't the dress requirements or I think I'll pass." He quipped back with a grin, getting a few chuckles from the players who were hanging around still.

"That depends on what Cardinal gave you. Who knows, she might want to see her knight in a mini." The girl waved to her own 'pants'.

"Thankfully, the Goddess has been merciful." He assured the black clad teen, swiping through his menu and feeling the new heavier weight of a full-size heater shield on his arm. "Crusader's Honor." He named his new armament.

"It seems fitting." Asuna commented on the leader of the second successful raid. They only had four losses this time, instead of the twelve in the first battle.

"Yeah, maybe it's a reminder or a warning from the 'Goddess'." Klein pitched in, eyes narrowed. "Honor is a knight's shield but it can be sundered, like a maiden's purity."

Diavel gave the red-headed man a confused look but nodded. "I'll keep that in mind."

The interaction caused mass confusion save for Asuna, who hid a smile behind a hand.

"Yeah, good job and all that. Let's get the show on the road!" Leafa called out, taking the time to slug Diavel in the shoulder before walking past him. "The land of cows is cleared! Time to mooove on!" Her words causing chuckles and groans but also prodding the mass of players to move towards and up the stairs.

The players fell into groups based off of friendship instead of party composition as they climbed the pillar physically connecting the floors, though those were often one and the same.

"So, the MVP club, huh?" Tiffany poked the taller girl in the side with a wide smile. "And with the 'Black Death' and the 'Cerulean Knight' the only members. Maybe Cardinal just likes epithets?"

Kiriko just rolled her eyes at the title the population of players had given her. She didn't know who started it but it'd taken hold in the current zeitgeist and she couldn't be bothered to have anything to do with it.

Ironically, outside of the normal raid members, noone showed any knowledge that she and the 'Black Death' were the same person.

Really, the majority of players, who made up the people just trying to live the new life handed to them by the Calamity, just treated the 'Black Death' like and athlete or celebrity, someone to gossip about but never expect to actually meet... and that was actually a scary thought, now that she actually ran it through her brain.

"Oi, kid! I can see the smoke coming out of your ears!" Klein's voice snapped her back to reality. "What's got your gears churning so much?"

"Nothing… Just thinking on the nickname and everything." She answered with a half-truth.

"Is that the reason for the uniform color?" Diavel asked with a quirked eyebrow. "If that's also a requirement for the 'club' we're going to run out of colors rather quickly."

Kiriko chuckled with the others but shook her head. "I like the color."

"It's that simple, huh?" Klein rubbed his chin but looked about him and found that almost everyone has some form of color palet to their clothes that matched their character. Even he had started gaining more red pieces of clothing to match his favorite color.

"My Nee-chan's a simple girl." Leafa ticked off on her fingers. "Food, Fighting and... Napping." Grinning at the few snickers.

Kiriko just shrugged at the chuckles. "She's not wrong."

"She really isn't." Asuna agreed with a smile. "It's endearing."

"What should we expect on the next floor?" Gilliam asked from just behind his husband.

"The next floor introduces the first multi-floor quest line, with that being the 'Elven War Campaign'." Diavel stated loudly for the sake of the majority of raid members. "We'll emerge on the east side of the floor, near the town of Zumfut. Once we activate the Gate any party in the zone has a chance to encounter the starting quest of the war, where you choose between the Dark Elves and the Forest Elves."

"Once you choose a side, you're locked into it as the other side turned hostile to you. At least, that's the way things were in the Beta." Diavel gave a shrug, his metal pauldrons audible with the movement. "Just know that your specific story through the war is instanced in some parts and not in others."

"What he means is this was the first point where PvP was encouraged by the game." Kiriko spoke up.

"Right." He nodded to her. "But only in regards to specific missions of the war. An example being; there's a mission where both sides want an item, so both sides can fight it out and the survivors getting the item."

"Are there any real differences to the sides?" Issin asked, rubbing his chin in thought.

Kiriko and Diavel shared a look before Kiriko shrugged, Diavel turning to the man. "As far as we were able to figure out, it's mainly determines whether your 'side' is on the north or south side of the floor and that's really it bar one real difference; the Forest Elves are patriarchal while the Dark Elves are matriarchal."

"But they more cared about the fact that we were Human and not Elven, than if we were male or female." Kiriko clarified before looking back to the Cerulean Knight. "Are you going with the same side as before?"

"I am." He nodded, quirking an eyebrow. "Friend or Foe?"

"Foe." She held out a hand and they shook. "Good luck, have fun."

"To you as well."

"So you two knew each other in the Beta?" Asuna asked, eyeing the raid leader standing beside the black clad girl.

"Not really." Kiriko said, gesturing towards the taller man. "Even in the Beta, this guy liked to play leader, so he was really visible. I was usually off doing my own thing until an event happened."

"I may have known of her in the Beta but she wasn't using this character or name, so I don't know and it doesn't really matter." Diavel admitted with a shrug. "It does make me curious as to why she's being tight lipped about it, though."

"Hmm… maybe one day you'll find out but not this one."

The man just chuckled and moved up the stairs to speak with some other players.

"Man, I wonder just how many Beta Testers are in the raid group right now." Klein looked over the people he could see in the winding circular staircase.

"I only know of three: Cooper, because of the Kibaou thing; Diavel because he told me right before the first boss and myself. Anyone else who might be here either wasn't that popular in the Beta or changed their avatar or name." She gave off a shrug. "It wouldn't surprise me if some of the Beta Testers are just waiting for a specific floor to be unlocked so they can get the gear they're used to before joining the clearing effort."

Any further discussion halted as the players exited out onto a messa overlooking a sea of green. A thick canopy covered nearly the entirety of the floor, a thick mist visible through the few gaps.

"This view is amazing…" Gillian whispered out in awe. "I wish I had my camera."

"Welcome to the Forest of Wavering Mists!" Diavel called out, waving an arm to the forest below. "Where the shadows moving in the corner of your vision really are the trees out to kill you."

"Wait. What?!" Leafa jerked her head towards the raid leader.

Kiriko just chuckled at the joke and her sister's reaction. "There's a tree monster here that doesn't show up on the Search skill until it moves, so this floor got known as the 'spooky' floor."

With that said, the raid made their way towards the town just south of where they emerged and the Gate contained within.

o0O0o

"Hey, Klein! Hold up a moment."

"Yeah, kid?" The man turned towards the black clad teen. "What's up?"

"I just wanted you to know that this floor is also where the Guild Formation quest is, assuming it hasn't been changed with the other things." Kiriko informed him. "It should start in the Town of Beginnings but the actual quest is on this floor."

"Thanks for the tip." He clapped her lightly on the shoulder. "But I get the feeling you don't want to join your Aniki's guild, huh." He turned her about with that hand, having her face the other two girls who were pointing out the three 'buildings' that made up the town. "Not when you have those two with you."

"So, what are you gonna call your Guild?"

The words echoed through her brain.

"What?"

"Your Guild. What're you going to call it, kid?" Klein asked again, shaking her shoulder a bit.

"Ah…" The girl still tried to process the words. "I don't know… I didn't plan on making one."

"Come on, man. That's no good!" Klein shook his head. "Me and the guys always made guilds in the other games we played. It's one of the reasons we stuck together over the years!"

"But I've always been alone."

"Yeah but that was then. This is now." Klein pointed out, waving to the two girls who had glanced back to see them talking. "If you're not alone anymore, why not tell everyone else that you're taken? If you still can't decide, ask them what they want. One of them's family and the other wants to be."

"Hey, Klein. What's up?" Leafa asked as she walked up to the pair, Asuna a step behind.

"Just an Aniki trying to share his advice." Klein told her, patting Kiriko's shoulder one last time before walking away. "I'll see you guys around!"

"Oookay." The blonde watched the man walk off to the Gate before shrugging. "So, what do you want to do now, Nee-chan?"

Steel blue eyes blinked between the two smiling girls, Klein's words echoing through her mind. "I don't know. What about you, Asuna?"

The brunette blinked at the question before tapping her lips. "Could we visit a cafe? I'd like to see what types of foods this town has."

"Oh! That sounds good! I could go for a cake right now!" Leafa's eyes widened at the thought.

"Sounds like a plan, then." Kiriko said with a smile, waving for Asuna to lead the way.

o0O0o

"How is it?" Asuna asked, looking towards the flan with berries on her friend's plate.

Leafa rocked her head back and forth in thought. "It's okay, but it's no cake."

"Ah, sorry."

"Hey, no apologies! This is us trying new things!" The blonde turned to the third member of the group. "Tell her, Nee-chan!"

"Sugu's right… for a change." Kiriko smirked at her little sister's squawk of indignation and Asuna's giggle that she tried to hide. "It tastes good but it… I don't know… feels odd. Like it's a pudding but not."

"That's because the custard was baked after the whipping of the sugar, eggs and cream, which helps it hold its form before chilling it unlike the milk based pudding." Asuna explained, taking another bite of the sweet treat. She noticed she was being stared at by the siblings and flushed. "W-what?"

"You… we're just surprised to see you look so happy about cooking." Kiriko supplied, her sister nodding in agreement. "Why didn't you tell us you liked cooking?"

"Ah… well, there's no cooking section in the menu, so… Sorry?"

"No… No, this is my fault." The raven-haired girl told her, palming her forehead. "I keep forgetting that you're completely new to this game." She glanced towards her sister. "Did we talk about this before?"

"Um… Actually, I think it was before we found Asuna-chan." Leafa tapped her chin in thought.

"Okay, anyways, I'm sorry Asuna for assuming you knew, but there's crafting skills players can learn just like the Mining one we found on the second floor. There's a cooking skill but you have to unlock it first."

"O-oh!" The girl looked shocked to learn that something she thought impossible was so easy to achieve.

"Before I find out just what we need to get you the skill, are there any other crafts you like?" Kiriko asked the brunette.

"Well, I like to sew a little and flower arranging." She softly said.

"Wow... cooking, sewing, flowers, the cuteness and the ojou-chan personality… you're a yamato nadeshiko!" Leafa exclaimed, shocking her companions. She shot a look towards her sibling. "Nee-chan! Marry her!"

"W-what?!" It sounded like a competition between Kiriko and Asuna for who could reach the highest pitch, as both shrieked the word out in shock.

"We can't lose her to someone else! As the older sibling, take responsibility and marry her!" Leafa declared in complete seriousness. "Think of all the cake we could eat!"

"Sugu…" Kiriko palmed her face and ran the hand down in embarrassment. Glancing over, she saw the brown haired girl stalk still in shock, a pink dusting to her cheeks. "Asuna." She blinked when the girl didn't respond. "Asuna!"

"Yes, dear?" The zoned out girl used the formal word for one's spouse, causing the black haired girl to choke.

"Asuna-nee-sama!" The blonde leaped over to embrace the girl, only to cause them both to crash to the floor.

The waitress cautiously stepped over, eyeing the two girls still on the floor, one still looking zoned out to the world and the other rubbing her cheek against the other's. "Um… is everything… okay?"

Kiriko just let out another sigh, and hid her face in her hands. "Yes… I'm just trying to die of embarrassment."

The waitress stifled a giggle at the put-upon voice the girl in black exuded before going back to the counter to laugh away from the customers.

"Let her up, Sugu! You're causing a scene!" Kikiro sternly told her sister after a few more seconds had passed. Sighing, she stood to help Asuna back to her seat and pry her sister off the girl.

Once everyone was seated again, a bright flush on two of their cheeks while Leafa grinned like she won the lottery, Kiriko coughed into a hand. "Asuna, just to let you know, there is a marriage system for the game."

"R-really?" The girl's brown eyes flicked to her and then her lap.

"Yes. It's rather simple to do. You just go to your Social menu, select a friend and then choose the 'Marriage Proposal' option. The other person gets a selection window like a friend request but for marriage. If the person selects 'Yes', they're instantly married."

"J-just like that?" Asuna asked in curiosity, getting a nod. "C-can you show me?"

"Ah… sure, I guess." Quirking an eyebrow at the request, but scooting closer to Asuna and opening her menu, swiping to the Social tab. "Here's the Social tab and we'll scroll down to your name, so you'll see the popup. I just select your entry, go to the 'Marriage Proposal' option and select it. There's a second window, warning you if you sure and if you hit yes, then a window pops up for the target player. Just like that one." Kiriko pointed to the window floating before Asuna. "Now they jus-"

The brunette tapped the 'Accept' button, the window closing automatically.

A new window appeared, this time before Leafa declaring 'Asuna has accepted Kiriko's Marriage Proposal!'.

"Uh, wow…" Leafa muttered in stunned shock, the brunette blushing with a small smile on her lips.

Kiriko just sat there, finger still pointing at the non-existent window, jaw opening and closing in silence.

"Uh… Nee-chan, why do I see this message?" Leafa asked in a quiet voice.

The raven-haired girl swallowed, tried to speak and swallowed again. "B-because it g-goes to both… b-both friends lists..."

Then, the 'new message' pings started dinging in her ear.

All of them.

END OF CHAPTER 6

o0O0o

A/N

Okay, telling the truth here, I didn't plan the last section to have that happened. I just started writing and with the personality I've given Leafa and the changes to Asuna's, it… well, it just sort of happened and I couldn't NOT write it!

If you want an idea of what Kiriko looks like now, look up Rin Tohsaka from the Fate anime but with a single ponytail, black clothes and black long coat. Ironically, I was looking at those pictures to help with descriptions when one of you messaged me about her looking like Rin! Just keep the NSFW setting in the correct spot for your search engine.

Definitions:

Zettai Ryouiki or the 'Absolute Zone' is the distance between the bottom of the skirt and the top of the sock or stocking, with the least amount of skin being shown as a Grade A and a super attractive style in Japan. In their opinion, the shorter the skirt, without showing panties while still, and the higher the socks while still showing any skin is the 'best'.

Yamato Nadeshiko or 'Personification of Japanese Womanhood or Femininity' is the cultural 'perfect woman' that upholds all of the traditional Japanese values, though it's more of a cultural holdover nowadays. You'll still find yamato nadeshiko in television programs and anime, though.

PS - I think I'm writing too fast, because the FFnet server is showing the previous chapter's upload time/date... Odd glitch but whatever.

PSS - Also, every chapter so far has been written after the posting of the previous chapter. I don't have any pre-written. All of these chapters have been written the same day I posted them and I'm having a blast writing them. XD


	7. Chapter 7

Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

10 Dec 2022 - Day 34

Kiriko just stared at the the still flushed white clad girl seated next to her, even as Asuna's shining golden-brown eyes bore into her own steely blues. The idle thought that she could see herself reflected in the inky darkness of the girl's dilated pupils, like twin holes punctured in the fabric of the universe with their irresistible gravity drawing her in, made Kiriko's cheeks heat up.

This girl… this beautiful young woman just… What, tricked her?

She blinked her steely blue eyes and drank in the absolute content look of serenity across Asuna's face. From her eyes, her cheeks and her lips and the soft breaths causing her chest to rise and fall… Kiriko had no doubt in her mind that the girl had just accomplished one of her greatest wishes in life… at least, that's what the thought running through the raven-haired girl's mind at seeing her… wife's face so full of soft emotion.

It frightened her.

To see such utter adoration from the brunette… to see the expression that said 'you are my all' on the young woman's face as she calmly awaited Kiriko's… Judgement? Reciprocation?

She was scared by just how pure the emotion from the girl, who she just married, shown so radiently.

She had questions, in a quantity so numerous that she couldn't even fathom how to count them all; each one flitting to the front of her mind only to be shoved aside before it was even fully formed. Only one survived the crucible long enough to reach her lips…

"Why?"

Instead of looking offended at the whispered question, the brunette before her somehow smiled more, eyes glistening as she said just four words in response.

With that, the 'Black Death' of Aincrad got up and walked out of the cafe.

o0O0o

A glass of clear liquid clinked to the wooden table before her, making her blink in what seemed like the first time in minutes. The surprise dragging her eyes from the unremovable thin golden band on her left ring finger.

"You look like you could use this, kid." Klein's voice intoned as the redhead sat to his left.

Across from her, Diavel sipped at a flute of white wine while Tiffany, to her right, held a tankard of something heady.

"You're taking this kind of rough." The other man-turned-woman at the table commented, wiping the foam from her upper lip. "From what I'm seeing, a little something to loosen yourself might help get things off your chest." It went unsaid that they'd prevent it from going any further than that.

"Come on, kid. Bottoms up." Klein raised his own small glass of liquid courage, waiting until the raven-haired girl did the same, throwing it back at the same time.

Kiriko let out a coughing fit, quickly snatching the juice set before a second later and drinking heavily from it. "W-what was that!"

"A couple shots of high grain sake with a chaser." Klein breathed out, giving a full body shiver. "Good stuff!"

"They make a surprisingly good beer here, too." Tiffany committed with a grin. "But it's not smart to mix liquors and beers together. Trust me on that."

Diavel let out a snort. "Yeah, I learned that my first weekend at University. Got invited to a party by my upperclassman roommate and suffered the consequences the next day."

The three adults at the table shared a laugh, picturing their own drinking lessons they'd learned through self experience or seeing other's mistakes.

As for Kiriko, she felt her face tingling and every muscle in her body suddenly flare in dull pain. "Does it always hurt?"

The adults shared a glance before Tiffany spoke up, rubbing a hand to the girl's shoulder. "Hmm… only when you're wound up tighter than a spring. The alcohol's deadening your nerve signals and allowing your muscles to finally relax some. It'll fade in a bit, especially with the amount this yutz tricked you into slamming back."

She dropped her elbows to the wood and hid her face in tingling hands, feeling the metal band against her skin.

'Tricked'.

She took a shuddering breath as emotions warred inside her.

"Hey, kid." Klein placed a hand softly on her shoulder, getting her to peek at him. "None of us are gonna do anything like laugh or make fun of ya. We're here to help, ya." The redhead reassured the boy-turned-girl, his speech getting looser than normal with his buzz.

"Agreed." Diavel nodded, from his place across from Kiriko, having placed his still nearly full drink back to the table to fold his hands before him. "While I was surprised to see the system notification, I was more worried when I saw Klein's call for assistance."

'System Notification'... he meant the marriage announcement, Kiriko's buzzed mind translated, Asuna's smiling face flashed in her vision.

"We can't make any decisions for you, though." Tiffany warned, a serious look on her face. "I've helped many people that were going through relationship issues but I never made a decision for any of them.." She gave a small smile to the girl, tapping her own head. "Even though I somehow managed to get a great girl like Kathy to marry me, I by no means know everything about women, even if I'm one right now!" She finished with a quick laugh.

Kiriko could see something click in Diavel's mind at the black woman's words, looking at the young woman across from him. She knew he'd realised something as his eyes flashed wide for a split second. "You're Kirito."

She just nodded, taking a sip from her juice, hoping to wet her suddenly dry mouth.

"I see…" He trailed off in thought, drumming his bare fingers against the table before pausing. "You two already knew." He stated at the people flanking him before looking at the black haired girl before him. "Does she know?"

Kiriko pursed her lips, remembering that they'd never actually talked about the fact she was really a boy after Asuna found out. It'd just… sort of been ignored. Asuna never brought it up again and she just let the matter rest.

"She knows." Klein answered for her with a sigh, taking a sip of more clear liquid from another glass. It looked like he wanted to say more but refrained.

The four Adventurers settled into an uneasy calm for a bit, before Diavel chuckled. "You know that I put a bounty on your head?"

That got Kiriko to blink. "What?"

"In the Beta." The armored knight clarified with a grin. "After the third time you ganked me, I got so pissed I put a twenty thousand Col bounty out for you."

"Really?" She thought back to that point and cocked her head. "Huh. So that's why I had so many duel requests."

"Yup. I required logged proof of your defeat, so I contracted Argo." He chuckled. "Never paid out, too."

Kiriko just shrugged with her own grin. "She never told me about it... So, should I expect another wave of duel requests?"

Klein snorted, barely pulling his drink back in time. "Yeah, like anyone'd go after the 'Black Death', even for that amount. Anyone good enough would know just what you did… what you can do."

"That and that was all in the past, when this was just a game." Diavel stated, taking another sip of his white wine. "Right now, there's too much to work towards. We don't need distractions like that."

Kiriko heard the unsaid 'like your current problem'.

She dropped her forehead into her hands, looking at the hard grained wood tabletop before her face. "I just don't know how I'm supposed to feel about all this… or do!"

"She's obsessed with you."

"I know." Kiriko acknowledged Klein's statement. "I'm scared."

"Let's start there." Diavel said, his fingers now on the holographic keyboard overlaying the tabletop, a transparent window with lines of text already in it floating to the side. "All problems can be broken down into smaller parts. While you might not be able to deal with the whole thing, you can resolve each piece or even brake them down even more."

"It's either that or get you piss drunk to the point you start ranting and crying, getting it all out of your system and hope you remember it in the morning." Tiffany added with a shrug. "Personally, I'd prefer the first option."

Klein nodded towards the other two adults. "So, while I think I already know, why don't you tell us why you're scared."

She did. She told them about the look of absolute adoration and serenity that Asuna displayed. The look that everything was finally right with her world. That she'd do anything Kiriko asked of her, if given the chance.

That's what scared her.

Diavel finished typing something before reading something in the display. "You flinched earlier, when Tiffany said Klein tricked you. Why?" The man's speech pattern turning more analytical instead of grandiose.

She flinched again at the reminder, though none of the adults said anything.

"She tricked me into sending her the marriage proposal." Kiriko answered.

"What? She just asked you to go through the motions or something?" Klein leaned back and crossed his arms, looking towards the dark ceiling.

"Yes."

"Damn… I can see why you think she tricked you, kid." Klein commiserated with her.

"How did that make you feel?" Diavel inquired, typing something further in his notes. Notes about her, she realised.

"I don't know…" Kiriko shook her head and ran a hand through her bangs. "I was just so surprised at first. I mean, who would expect someone to just trick them into asking them to marry you?!"

"You'd be surprised." Tiffany answered the mostly rhetorical question, tapping the table with a manicured fingernail. "I've heard of girlfriends who finally got tired of waiting for their boyfriends to pop the question, so they engineer a situation which puts him on the spot; either pop the question or lose everything. Most guys take the hint. The others… well, it was probably better for both parties that it didn't happen."

"But why?! Why did she… we're just friends!" She cried out, voice echoing off the small empty tavern walls. "We barely know each other!"

"Knowing what I do about you, especially from our time in the Beta, I can say you're a decently adjusted young man, if a bit antisocial, who's suffering from forced gender dysphoria, most likely caused by the Calamity locking you into that body." Diavel intoned, finishing off a line of notes. He glanced towards her with a meaningful look. "I think the situation says more about her than it does you."

Kiriko saw Tiffany nod at the assessment, though she didn't fully understand it. Her gaze was instead drawn to Klein as he let out a sigh before taking a long drink of sake. "What?"

Klein leaned forward to place the half-full glass onto the table, folding his hands and looking down at them, avoiding her gaze. "While you were out of it… you know, after Illfang, I stopped by to see how you guys were holding up."

"You got Sugu drunk again." Kiriko said with a small, weak smile.

Klein chuckled, looking her in the eye while shrugging. "She did her thing, grabbing the wrong bottle. What do you want me to do?"

"Try not getting my sister drunk?" She answered, getting the older man to chuckle.

"Yeah, fat chance of that." He said before taking a breath. "Anyways, before that, it was just me and Asuna with you there, dead to the world. I was already blitzed and was ranting about how useless I felt about not being able to help you."

He leaned back and crossed his arms, closing his eyes as he remembered the event. "The entire time, she just kept sitting by your side on that bed. Changing the damp rag when it dried or just brushing your hair… Eventually, I asked her why she kept using female words for you when she knew you were a guy and I was only using 'he' and 'him'."

He opened his eyes and his hazel met steel blue.

"She said 'She'll always be my Kiriko'."

"Tch." Tiffany took a drink of her beer. "That's not good…"

"What?" Kiriko looked towards the older woman in confusion.

"Klein wasn't kidding when he said she was obsessed before." She replied, wiping her mouth with a hand. "This could go real bad, real quick if we aren't careful."

"You've seen this before?" Diavel asked, finding himself outside his well of knowledge on the subject.

Tiffany nodded, sending her wavy hair swaying before pursing her lips. "Well… My wife and I own a bar in Tokyo and keep in touch with a few friends around the area. After a bit, you start recognizing the regulars and figuring them out. You know, like their favorite drinks, how to read their moods before they even say anything, how they like their job… you know, it's like I'm like a cousin they can talk to while I serve them drinks."

She waved a hand in a small circle with her wrist. "Anyways, you notice when a regular stops showing up. I remember this one guy… nice, had a good job and over the moon for a girl and it sounded like she was the same for him. So everything's good, right?" She shook her head. "I saw his name on the news a few weeks after he stopped showing up. Girlfriend murdered him in his sleep after a female coworker texted him about an upcoming business trip while he was asleep." She took another drink of beer to wet her mouth, seeing the two men at the table cringe while the girl just stared at her. "Turns out she was just a little bit more than 'over the moon' for him and everyone missed the signs."

The Cerulean Knight stopped his note taking to take a sip of his own drink, looking towards the stunned looking girl across from him. "Fair warning but we're going to start asking questions about Asuna now. I doubt she'd talk to us herself about this, so we're going to be relying on you." He saw Kiriko nod and take a shaky breath. "First, how did you and Asuna meet? And try not to leave anything out. Even the smallest detail might hold clues."

Taking another shaky breath, she told them how she and Leafa had found the unconscious girl in the first floor Labyrinth.

Then about her waking and the ensuing conversation… about Asuna committing suicide, multiple times, in a failed attempt to return home.

"That's jacked up…" Klein muttered, tossing back the rest of his sake and not quite slamming the glass to the wood. "Like, really fucked up!"

"People were panicking and trying anything they could those first few days." Diavel commented, drinking from a glass of iced tea he'd ordered somewhere along the way. "I'm surprised it was as orderly as it was, if I'm being honest."

"Yeah, same here." Tiffany nodded her head with crossed arms. "Kathy and I were better off than most because we were together but a lot of people were cut off from everything they ever knew. Stress can make you do some crazy things…"

"Indeed." Diavel agreed, turning back to Kiriko. "Did she say anything else?"

The raven-haired girl scrunched up her brow in thought. "Well… she said something about not being able to remember what her brother looked like."

The three adults glanced at each other in confusion, not being able to see a connection.

"What? He dead or something?" Klein asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Kiriko shook her head. "No, she said he was on a business trip with their father for a few days. That's why she was even able to try out the game."

"That's not long enough for normal memory loss." Diavel rubbed his goatee in frustration.

"Hey, stupid question, but have any of you died in game since the Calamity?" Klein asked out.

The two females shook their heads but Diabel sighed. "Twice. Once to an add spawning in behind me and the other to fall damage."

"Do you notice anything different from before you died?" Tiffany asked, getting the man to furrowed his brow. "You know, memory gaps or personality changes?"

"Not that I've noticed… but that could be part of the effect…" The knight muttered to himself, stroking his goatee once more.

The rest knuckled down and pondered this new line of thinking.

"Hey… what about Leafa?" Klein asked, glancing towards the girl's older sibling. "Hasn't she been a bit… I don't know... in your face since Illfang?"

The other two adults just shrugged.

"I never met her until the raid meeting before that." Tiffany said, while Diavel stated something similar.

All eyes turned towards Kiriko, who was still staring at the table with a intensity that would punch a hole straight through it if she could. Eventually, she took a deep breath. "She's always been energetic but… maybe she's a little more since? I just thought it was her getting used to things or something."

"Hmm…" Diabel's hum drew the combined attention next. "I don't know if it's connected but I can't remember the topic of my finals thesis. Considering it was worth forty percent of my grade, I spent weeks on it."

"So you forgetting that is damn suspicious." Klein said, getting a nod in return. "Anything else?"

He let out a hum before looking to the worried girl and coughing. "Er… was I always this… grandiose in the Beta?"

Kiriko cocked her head in thought but eventually shook it. "I don't know. I didn't really pay attention to raid meetings outside of the actual plan. I just didn't care about most people."

"It could just be you getting used to your position as raid leader, though, too." Tiffany pointed out. "It might have nothing to do with anything."

"True but I had to ask." He nodded towards the black skinned woman.

"So, what? We've figured out that dying messes with your head and/or nukes your memories?" Klein asked with a sour look on his face, like they mixed the sugar rim of his drink up with salt or something.

"Maybe… but if it is like that, then it seems progressive with each death." Diavel pointed out, glancing at the contemplative girl across from him. "Did she say how many times she died?"

"No…" Kiriko admitted but looked into his blue-green eyes. "But it sounded she went through a lot."

Klein let out another sigh, pulling his bandanna off to run a hand through his long strands of crimson. "Back to when you were out for the count, I asked Asuna why she had an issue with you really being a guy." He shrugged but tapped the table with a finger. "I told her nevermind because her reaction to just the question was enough. She almost tore that wetrag into pieces with fear."

He tapped the table again. "And the first time I met her, she did her damnedest to hide behind the kid, keeping him between her and me until he told her I was safe."

"So, maybe some prior trauma?" Diabel hazarded, glancing to Tiffany who shrugged.

"If it is, then we don't know if it's before the Calamity, before she died, during or after but before Kiriko found her." The bar owner listed off on her fingers, with her being found counted on the small woman's thumb. "That's a lot of stuff happening in a short amount of time."

"It would explain some things, like why she latched onto Kiriko so strongly." Diavel commented with a nod at his own words.

"Wait. You're saying Asuna was hurt?" Kiriko asked, getting shrugs in response from the two adults on the right.

"We have no way to know without asking her and I'd rather not do so with everything that's just occured." Diavel admitted before grimacing. "In fact, even you leaving her like you did might be cause for concern."

Klein just waved it off. "I had Dynamm tell her and the kid's sister that we were throwing him a bachelor party to 'send him off properly'. He said Asuna actually smiled at that. Probably thinking that's one more step to making this marriage official."

"You may be right… Dammit all, this is one messed up situation." Tiffany rubbed her forehead in frustration.

"That's what I said." Klein agreed, drinking another glass of clear liquid. Considering the deep draws, Kiriko thought it was water.

"So… what do I do?" The raven-haired girl asked the gathered adults.

They glanced at each other until Diavel let out a sigh and shook his head. "I don't know. I haven't finished my training yet. I can diagnose problems pretty well but I don't know how to fix them." That admission looked to physically hurt the knight.

"All I can give you is the general suggestions I give almost every customer who's having relationship trouble; talk things through with her." Tiffany advised, reaching over to softly hold Kiriko's hand. "Find out what she really wants in this relationship… this marriage, no matter if it's real or not."

"I would advise against doing it immediately, though." Diavel shook his head, sending his cerulian hair waving. "I'd actually say it's better to just pretend you're happily married for a bit to comfort her. If you do anything outside what she expects as 'normal' it could trigger a rejection response, whether you intend it or not."

"But won't pretending just reinforce the problem?!" Klein slammed a fist into the table, rattling the empty cups and mugs. "What's it going to do to the kid, too?! You think he deserves this?!"

"I already said I don't have any way to fix this!" Diavel yelled back, frustration obvious. "I'm running blind here and doing my best!"

"Guys! Guys! Calm down!" Tiffany jumped out of her seat to push the men back into theirs. "Calm the hell down! Right now! Us fighting isn't helping the kid out and that's what we're here for, right?" She narrowed her eyes at the lack of response. "Right?!"

Diavel sighed. "You're right. I apologize."

"Yeah, same here. I'm just worried and pissed that I can't help." Klein wiped a hand down his face.

"You've already helped, Klein." The voice from his right drawing his gaze up to see Kiriko smiling at him. "You're the one to set this all up to help me and Asuna."

"He's right." Diavel nodded with a smile, reaching over to lightly punch the redhead's shoulder. "Sometimes it's knowing the right people and putting them in the right spot to do their jobs. Trust me, being a good leader is just that."

"I thought Argo set up the parties for both raids." Tiffany commented with a raised eyebrow.

Diavel just spread his arms and grinned. "I rest my case."

The four shared a light chuckle before the gravity of the situation settled once more upon them.

Klein stretched his arms towards the ceiling before clasping his hands behind his head. "So, we're still stuck with what to do about the kid's new wife."

"And I'll say again that I think the best thing to do right now is have everyone treat it like a real marriage, if only to make sure she stays relaxed." The Cerulean Knight posited once more to the table, going on to further explain. "That means referring to her as his wife every now and then in her presence to reinforce in her mind that the 'community', IE her friends, officially recognise it and we're happy for her."

"And I still don't like it." Tiffany repeated her own stance. "It's just reinforcing the delusion, which is going to make it harder later on."

"I don't know… sometimes you have to put the sword back into the fire to straighten it out." Klein mused, taking another drink. He looked out to see both the other adults giving him a confused look. "Nevermind… just the drink talking."

"Klein." The redheaded man cracked his eye open to look at the girl who looked a little desperate. "I could really use Aniki's advice right now…"

He blinked before he let out a breath, rubbing his eyes with both hands. "Look, kid. I'm not the best person to ask relationship advice from. I've managed to screw up all my dates and fallen on my face more times than I count in the past few years." He placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and looked her in the eye. "Are you sure you really want my advice on this, kid?"

"Please…"

Klein sighed and patted the girls shoulder before sitting up straight and pointing to Diabel. "I think he's got a good plan to start with, treat her like she's really your wife; get her flowers, quick kisses her on the cheek or lips depending on what she wants… you know, the whole girlfriend treatment. I doubt she's going to push for you to consummate the thing for a while, so don't worry about that."

Kiriko's cheeks flashed red at the words coming out of the redhead's mouth but nodded along.

"Keep Leafa around, though…" He glanced towards Diavel. "What do you think about trying to get Asuna to move into a big-sis roll for Leafa?"

"Maybe…" The knight mused, crossing his arms across his metal armor. "It'd reinforce the family unit, which is usually the signs of a healthy relationship."

"I can't believe I'm doing this but that actually sounds good." Tiffany rubbed the bridge of her nose before pointing to Kiriko. "You need to tell your sister, as soon as possible, though! No surprises down the line!"

"Agreed." Diavel nodded.

"Wait, I'll tell her." Klein stated, getting the table's attention. "Just… take Asuna on a date to act like the honeymoon or something." He suggested.

Kiriko tapped her pursed lips in thought before nodding. "We were talking about what Asuna liked to do for hobbies before the… we got married." Her cheeks flushed prettily as she looked down to the thin wedding band on her hand. "I can take her to complete the unlock quests for our date."

"Not good enough!" Tiffany shook her head, sending her wavy hair curling around her head. "If you're going to do this, it needs to be the real thing. Nice clothes and a dinner are a must! Too many men screw up the first really important date of their relationship. Most of the time, it's the first anniversary but this one is literally THE most important one!"

"But… what do I do?! What do I wear?!" Kiriko panicked. "I've never been on a date before!"

"Don't worry." She sent off a message to her wife. "Kathy and I will handle it. All you'll have to worry about is making sure Asuna has the best honeymoon she can expect to have; what with the lack of movies and amusement parks."

"Hey, remember that outlook just west of the Town of Beginnings?" Diavel asked the panicking girl. "The one they added the benches and the entwined trees to?"

Blue eyes blinked in remembrance. "The first in-game marriage happened there, right?."

"Yeah, those players talked the devs into setting it up." Diavel nodded. "Take her out there. It's a great view anyways and if there are other couples out there, even better."

Taking a breath, Kiriko looked at the three friends trying to help her and Asuna. "Are you sure this will help her."

"We'll try our best but… you're the most likely to be able to help her, Kiriko." Diavel said gravely. "You're the one she's attached herself to, so even if we're her friends, you're her… husband? Wife?" He shrugged his shoulders at a loss.

"Wife." Klein decided, tapping the table. "Remember how she reacted about the kid being a guy. Any reminder is probably going to trigger that."

"Right… So… I'm her wife." Kiriko agreed, though she felt funny at the thought of being the WIFE in a marriage, let alone married so young!

Klein chuckled. "You may kiss the bride!"

"Which one?" Tiffany finished the joke with a grin after a second before letting a breath out. "If we're doing this, we only have one chance at it. And remember, this is no 'perfect', there's just 'good enough'. We're not trying to make Asuna who she was before, not only because we don't know who she was but because it's a fool's errand." She warned everyone present. "Kid… Kiriko, you have the final say in this. Are we doing it or not."

The raven-haired girl looked down at her hands, worrying the ring on her left with her right. The others stayed quiet as she thought about everything they just said, from the warnings, to the plans and… She looked up and blinked. "What is 'good enough'?"

That brought the others up short, each sharing a look and silent gestures. Eventually, Klein frowned and waved a hand towards Diavel and Tiffany. "Kid, that's not a call we can make."

"What?" She looked at the person she really was starting to look to as a big brother.

"Kid… She's YOUR wife." He tapped the ring on her finger in emphasis. "Fake or not, you're the one who has to live with whatever she becomes. So, the question is, what's 'good enough' for you?" He gripped her arm and gave her piercing look in the eye. "Remember, we're not changing her, we're helping her recover."

Klein pulled back and let the kid he was starting to see as a little brother really think about it. The other two gave him small nods and he returned it, taking a drink of water, feeling his buzz having dwindled to nothing, long ago.

"I want her to be strong!" Kiriko finally declared, looking up and at each adult seated with her. "I want her to make her own decisions and fight for herself and her dreams. If that's one with me in it… so be it but I don't want it to be because she can't survive without me."

"Then that's the goal we'll work towards." Diavel stated, shifting into his Knight personna, getting nods from the other two. "For now, we need to plan out their 'honeymoon' fully."

"I'll keep Leafa busy tomorrow and tell her about the plan and everything." Klein stated.

"I'll take Kiriko dress shopping tomorrow while Kathy will take Asuna." Tiffany pitched her part. "We'll shop different parts of the city so it'll be a surprise."

"I'll find the appropriate venue for the dinner and make reservations." Diavel declared his objectives.

"Uh… I'll find out what needs done for the Cooking quest?" Kiriko said only to blink at Klein's head shake.

"Nah, kid. I'll handle that. You're gonna be busy tomorrow. I'll send you the details after I get them." He told the girl, setting a full glass of clear liquid on the table before her. "Now slug that back and then go back to her."

She eyed the clear liquid. "Why?"

"Because you're at a bachelor party! You're supposed to smell like booze!" He laughed, grabbing her in a headlock and put the glass to her lips. "Now drink up, little bro!"

Forced to choose between drinking and drowning, she chugged as fast as she could before gasping and heaving for breath.

"Aw… they grow up so fast." Klein wiped away an imaginary tear.

"Worst… Aniki… ever!" She declared between breaths before letting out a loud belch. "Ugn… I'm going to bed."

The three adults said their goodnights between chuckles, calming down as the door closed behind the girl.

Klein sat down with a breath, pulling up the messenger application and starting to type something out. "So, what do you think our odds are?"

"Somewhere between 'Oh, God! What have we done?!' and 'This is okay.'." Diavel replied, completely serious in the face of what they faced.

"Let's hope we're closer to the latter end of the spectrum, yeah?" Tiffany said in response, running a hand through her hair in tired frustration. "We can set him up with a good start but it's really up to the kid to followthru on this."

"And this is why I called you guys." Klein said, sending his message off and waiting for the reply. "I'm no good with this crap. I was damn pleased with myself if I showed up for work on time and got C+'s on my tests."

"Maybe you just never had anything really push you to be the man you can be." Diavel posited.

"Oi! Keep your psychoanalyzing on the kid's wife! Fix her first, then practice on others, you quack!" He shot back with a grin, showing he was mostly joking. A message ping got his interest and he started reading, then nodding. He typed something else and sent a reply, getting one back almost immediately. "Alright, that's my good deed for the day done. Time to meet up with the guys and get them onboard this fiasco waiting to happen."

o0O0o

The raven-haired girl shook her head, stumbling into the wall that lined the hallway. "Stupid, Klein." She muttered, pushing herself upright and using the wall to steady herself. "Drink this!" She continued to mutter as the balance of the world shifted again, throwing her against the other wall.

Looking at the door number, she groaned and pushed her way down the hall some more. "Stupid…"

Reaching the right door, she fumbled the key before getting it into the lock and opening it with a clunk.

Stumbling into the room, she blinked at the lights already being on. She blinked again at seeing the girl seated on the edge of the large bed in her normal pajamas, a serene smile on her lips.

Her wife…

Kiriko swallowed, feeling her mouth suddenly go dry. "I'm back."

"Welcome home." Asuna replied, standing and walking towards her stunned spouse. Wrapping her arms around the lithe girl, Asuna laid her head on her wife's shoulder and inhaled, breathing in a mixture of sake and Kiriko on her nose. "I missed you."

"Ah… Sorry." Kiriko wrapped her arms loosely around Asuna's waist and tried to grin. "Klein wouldn't let me leave until I finished the last glass."

"You're here and that's all that matters, my Kiriko-chan." Asuna looked into those steely blue eyes and leaned in for a quick but meaningful kiss, stunning the black clad girl once more. Smiling, Asuna gently led her wife towards the bed. "Let's get some sleep."

END OF CHAPTER 7

o0O0o

A/N

Smaller chapter because it's dealing with the fallout of the end of the last one. I literally woke up at 1am this morning because my mind would not let me sleep with this not written. It's around 10am at time of posting and I'm gonna take a nap.

Yeah, things got a little dark but I put some hints in the earlier chapters. Unless I made a mistake somewhere, Asuna never disagrees with Kiriko and just follows along with anything ordered of her. This was planned to be a drama point, I just got to it early do the storyflow and the ending of the last chapter.

Speaking of the ending, needed that and this chapter to be separate to help prevent too much mood whiplash.

The players are also simi-aware of the side-effects of death and resurrection now. It's not going to ratchet things up to 'Death Game' level but it definitely prevents zerging bosses.

If you see a glaring error, send me a message and I'll fix it later. For now, I'm going back to bed.


	8. Chapter 8

Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

11 Dec 2022 - Day 35

For the umpteenth time today, Kiriko wondered what the heck she was doing.

Literally, she was holding her arms out as the seamstress performed subtle adjustments to the knee length, midnight-black satin dress held up by band over her right shoulder. She'd been standing like this for what seemed like hours, her arms, shoulders and lower back feeling the burn from the constant low level strain of holding them up.

No, she was wondering why she was going through all this in the first place.

The first thought to come to her mind was: For Asuna.

But was that the right answer?

Who was Asuna to her, really?

"You're thinking about tis again-sa."

"Can you blame me?" She asked with a bitter laugh. Argo looked into her eyes. What she saw, Kiriko didn't know but she sighed anyways. "I know you'd be thinking about it if it happened to you."

"Point." The sandy-blonde girl shrugged but pointed with a quick finger. "But I'm more saying, you're thinking 'internally' about tis-sa. Why am I here if you're just going to keep tis to yourself?"

"To watch me get humiliated shopping for a fancy dress?" She arched a dark eyebrow.

Argo pouted at the girl standing in the tee pose. "You were more fun before."

Kiriko chuckled darkly. "Didn't you know? I'm a married woman, now."

"And that's the problem. Yes, I know-sa." Argo rolled her hand with a nod.

Kiriko let out a breath, looking to the ceiling. One of the few movements the seamstress would allow during the prolonged fitting process. "Part of me wonders why I don't just trigger a 'No Fault Divorce' and just give her my inventory." She let out another sigh. "But then I wonder just how she'd react if I just did it out of nowhere."

"Just like she when she married you." Argo continued to point out the negatives to the 'relationship'. She'd done so since they had left the hotel Kiriko and Asuna had stayed in.

She hadn't seen her sister since she'd walked out of that cafe on the third floor. She'd sent a message to her after waking up but had yet to receive a response. She only hoped things were going good with Klein.

It was another thing pulling her mental and emotional energy into a separate direction, as Kiriko's worry for her sister competed with the worry about Asuna.

"You know, if you just want to cut it all off, no one would blame you." Tiffany stated from her chair nearby. "Sure, we'd still try to deal with the fallout, whatever that might be, but we wouldn't blame you. This is not a normal relationship."

"But you'd all like it if I gave it a chance, I know." Kiriko continued the line of thinking the collective group of friends had come down as the best chance for Asuna's mental health. All she had to do was make the sacrifice of buying a fancyish dress and going on a date with a cute girl that she wasn't sure she had feelings for.

Well, that wasn't quite right.

She did have feelings for the brunette girl but they were of friendship, not romance, and even those had been severely strained by the quick shock of betrayal that lanced through the dark haired girl every time she felt the thin band of metal on her finger.

"I just… what happened to her… what was she thinking when she…"

"Broke and developed an obsessive psychosis?" Argo finished for her troubled friend. Sure, she thought Asuna was a nice enough girl but she'd only known the girl for a couple weeks and actually interacted for a few hours, tops. That, a friend didn't make, so she was perfectly willing to call the brunette out on her failings when Kiriko couldn't or wouldn't. "The only one who could tell you is Asuna-san herself-sa and I doubt she's really in the right frame of mind to talk about it."

"You can lower your arms now." The plump woman, her graying hair in a tight bun with knitting needles sticking out of it, told the girl.

"Oh, thank Cardinal!" Kiriko dropped her arms and slumped but jerked back up when the seamstress snapped at her. Hearing her friend snicker at her discomfort, she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'll be waiting for when you need to suffer this and I'll be right there with a tub of popcorn, even if I have to farm it myself."

Tiffany barked a laugh at the byplay but gave the girl a once over. "Simple but elegant. I think it'll do nicely."

"Good! Cause no way am I going through this again!" Kiriko declared.

"You aren't the first to say that, girl, and you won't be the last." The seamstress commented in her aged voice, skillfully passing the needle close enough that it tickled at the girl's skin. "And yet, I'm still in business."

"So, is Ki-bou still going through with this-sa?"

Kiriko let out a sigh. "I might as well, I guess. I've gone far enough to do this. Everything else should be easy."

"And now you've just jinxed yourself, kid." Tiffany shook her head sadly. "We still need to find you some heels and have you learn to walk in them."

"WHAT!?"

o0O0o

"Hiya!" Leafa's Great Slice weapon art cleaved through the spider monster, the beast letting out a shriek before shattering into shards.

"Nice one!" Klein cheered as he applauded her fight.

She looked at the redhead and the spider nest around them. "Klein, why are we here?"

"Cause this is where the quest told us to go." He supplied, indicating the Guild Creation quest in the menu screen. "Just need to gather a few more eggs."

Leafa rolled her dark green eyes, the shadows making them look darker than normal. "No, I mean, why are we here?"

"Is this one of those philosophical questions or…"

"Klein!" She yelled, jabbing a finger into his breastplate. "Why! Are! We! Here!"

"Fine." He let out a breath. "You looked like you needed to do something, preferably with violence involved, before you did something you'd regret. So, here we are; something to do that involves killing things, far away from your brother and…"

"Asuna." A malstrom of emotion flashed across the young woman's face.

Klein rubbed the back of his neck. "Look. It wasn't your fault. She needs help."

"But I'm the one that brought it up and caused Kazuto to explain it to her. If I hadn't-"

"Then something else might have happened. Something better, something worse; we'll never know." Klein cut her off from the line of self-blame. "I knew there was something off with Asuna since your bro went murderkill on Illfang. Specifically that night you got drunk and I tried to kill Diavel."

"Look, I don't know what's going through her head but she's obsessed with your brother." He ran a hand over his lower face. "If she was a guy, she'd be labeled a stalker so fast, it'd… I've lost the metaphor but you get what I'm saying. You just happened to give her an attack vector she abused to her advantage."

"So, it is my fault."

"No!" He felt like pulling out his hair. "It was going to happen anyways! Hell, I could have made that joke and triggered it! Or one of the guys or even Tiffany or Diavel or someone we don't even know! It just happened to be you because of random dumb luck!"

Klein clapped his hands onto the girl's shoulders. "That's why we're out here! So you can burn it all out of your system before seeing your brother's new wife, even if she turned into a creepy stepford smiler who tricked him into it! She needs help and the least we can do is try to help her before she does something she'll regret even more than this."

"The least you can do is keep your head while your brother's still willing to put in the effort. Get me?"

She just looked at him, searching his face for something.

"There's a giant spider behind you."

"Look, I'm not going to fa-ARG!"

o0O0o

"I'm sure she will love it." Gilliam stated, smiling up at the girl.

"I really hope she does!" Asuna smiled back, calmly letting the seamstress bring in the waist of the snow-white dress.

"I wonder exactly how she'll react when she first sees you." Gilliam tapped his lips in thought, leading the girl to bare her thoughts unknowingly.

"She'll have that shocked 'oh' to her lips, her bright blue eyes roving over me as that fetching blush blossoms on her cheeks." The brunette sighed happily, as if seeing it happening at this very moment, a rather radiant blush dusting her cheeks.

"Oh my!" Gilliam held a hand against his smiling face. "I still remember the first time Andy made me feel like that! When was it for you, Asuna-chan?"

"When my Kiriko-chan first saved me." The blushing girl said before she carefully gestured with an extended hand. "But I didn't realise what my heart was telling me until recently!"

"Oh, really?" Gilliam looked surprised. "When was that?"

"When my Kiriko-chan gave me life once more." Her bright brown eyes closed as she let out a sigh at the memory. "We were hunting a cougar with a coat of the purest white. A storm had rolled in as we closed in on it. She wished for me to fly and scare it from its perch atop a cliff, so I did."

"I watched from above as she landed the killing blow, her every move a deadly dance." She let out another pleased sigh before frowning slightly with a huff of annoyance. "But then I sneezed and my foot slipped on the rain slick rocks and I fell over the edge."

"I knew I was about to die again…" Asuna's face turned to radiant wonder. "But my Kiriko-chan saved me, like a dark reaper pulling me from death's embrace to claim my soul with her very own arms. It was that moment that I knew I'd do anything... be anything that my Kiriko-chan needed."

"When Leafa-chan tried to convince her to marry me, I knew I would become the perfect wife and be with my Kiriko-chan until the world stops spinning."

"It's like a fairytale story!" Gilliam gushed.

"But I'm living it, all because my Kiriko-chan continues to save me with every breath that passes her lips. So, with every beat of my heart, I will make sure my Kiriko-chan wants for nothing. I will be the wings that supports her and the blade that cuts down her foes. No matter what she desires, I will ensure she obtains it."

"You may lower your arms now, young miss." The seamstress informed the girl, examining how the dress fell about her curves with the movement. Pulling a long red ribbon from a spool nearby, the middle-aged woman wrapped it around the girl's waist before tying it into a bow to drape over her right hip. "And it is finished."

The knee length, snow-white silken dress hugged her curves just enough to pique the imagination, the front modestly covering her bust but ending in a crossed band that wrapped behind her neck, leaving her upper back and shoulders bare. The only splash of color to the outfit consisting of the scarlet ribbon across her hips.

The girl padded off the platform, her bare feet gracefully gliding across the floor to stand before the tri-mirror display. "It's perfect…"

Gilliam came up behind her and placed his hands softly on her shoulders with a warm smile. "You look wonderful, dear. I'm sure Kiriko will love it."

"Yes… she will."

o0O0o

"Mou! You're sucking all the fun out of this-sa!" Argo pouted, crossing her arms in a fit of pique. A cry and a thud to the side quirked her lips up to spite her statement, pulling her gaze towards the short black woman rubbing her rear. "But tis not a total loss-sa!"

"What the hell?!" Tiffany glared at the five centimeter heels on her feet and then at the raven-haired girl who was reaching down a hand to help her stand once more. She glared the greatest at the eight centimeter heels the girl wore like she'd been walking in them her entire life, instead of being the boy turned girl she actually was! "What did you do? Wear your mom's heels around the house when no one was home?!"

Argo snickered at the question while Kiriko flushed brightly at the insinuation as she effortlessly helped the older woman up to a quickly wobbling stance. "No! I… I just have good balance!"

"Focus on the toes-sa." Argo pitched in, between snickers. "You're still putting your weight on your heels."

"But I feel like I'm falling forward!" The man turned woman cried, windmilling her arms as she tried to follow the sandy-blonde girl's advice. "Oof!"

Kiriko hid her smile behind a hand, even as Tiffany glared up at her once more. "You'll get it soon."

"No, I think I'm done." The black woman flicked off the black heels and stood on her two bare feet, wiggling her toes on the carpet. "Ah! Much better!"

"Well, that fun's over." Argo lamented, sitting down to take off her own white eight centimeter heels and slide back on her normal shoes. Her smile had teeth as she looked at the now worried Kiriko, having seen that predatory grin from Argo before. "Now, it's time for makeup practice-sa!"

"Oh, come on!" The raven-haired girl threw her hands in the air before crossing them over the new dress she had worn to match the shoes with. "How much more?"

"Relax." Tiffany patted the girl's arm. "She's just messing with you."

Hearing that, steely blue eyes shot a glare that'd kill if it had a damage stat. Argo just grinned like a cat that'd ate the canary. "Hate you so much."

The blonde put a hand over her heart but the grin never faded. "Aw… you know you still love me."

"So much hate."

Tiffany clapped her hands. "Alright, girls. We're done here." She looked towards Kiriko. "Why don't you go change out of that and we'll go get some lunch."

Kiriko let out a final huff, walking behind a small changing curtain to pull off the dress and heels before equipping her saved combat loadout via the game menu before carefully folding and bagging the dress and heels. She walked back out with her normal outfit of the long coat, halter top, miniskirt and thigh-socks. All of midnight black. "Much better!"

"So, you still haven't found any 'pants' huh?" Argo asked, looking at her friend's clothes.

The black clad girl just let out a tired sigh, crossing her arms in annoyance. "I've given up! I've gone so far as to physically put the pants on, like we just did with that dress, but if I put it into the inventory and re-equip it…" She waved a hand over herself.

"I wonder if it'd do the same to armor." The sandy-blonde girl mused, tapping her lips.

"One, I'm not paying for the armor for you to find out." Kiriko stated, knowing that metal armor was expensive this early in the game. "Two, I don't have the constitution to equip it."

"Still going that glass cannon ninja build?" Argo asked, knowing what she had ran in the Beta.

"Why not?" Kiriko shrugged. "It's worked fine so far."

"I'd rather just stand my ground and duke it out." Tiffany stated, flexing the muscles on her arms. "I'm not built for zipping around like a jazzed out rabbit. Just let me have my big-ass axe and I'll chop down my enemies like a lumberjack."

"There was one guy who took that build to its extreme." Argo commented as they walked down and down the street. "He wanted to try making a 'one-shot' build, the true definition of a glass cannon. If he got the first hit, you were done for. If he missed, he'd be wide open and wearing tissue for armor."

"If I recall correctly, he actually went pretty far into the tournament they had while I was sick and couldn't play."

Argo nodded at her friend's words. "Full strength and the rest into agility. Just fast enough to hit most players and strong enough to hit like a truck. He got knocked out by someone who focused on heavy armor and counter attacks."

"You mean, the one that does more damage based off the amount you just countered?" Tiffany asked, having seen it in the latest Argo's Guide going over weapon skills.

"That's the one!" The sandy-blonde pointed to the muscled woman. "Did so much damage it tripped the system and killed him even with the 'to one hit point' dueling rules active. Took the devs a bit but they figured out what happened and fixed it."

"I'm glad they did, because it's the best way to spar other players." Kiriko stated. "With that new death penalty, the old 'to the yellow' option is just too risky."

"How are people handling the news about that." Tiffany asked the 'Rat'.

"It's too early to tell." The teen information dealer shrugged. "Most people don't even read the message boards around the town, so it could take days before it starts being talked about. I'd expect another round of people freaking out, though."

"I don't blame them, with what it did to Asuna." The black woman stated, causing an uneasy silence to fall over the three.

Steely-blue flicked to bright-hazel as Kiriko glanced at Argo. "You didn't mention Asuna, did you?"

"Not by name." She replied with a frown. "I did say we had an 'extreme case of personally corruption', which Diavel said was close enough of an explanation without doing into details. I also talked about the memory loss that could occur."

"But who knows how many people started playing fast and loose with their lives after realising death wasn't the 'final journey'." Tiffany chipped in with a sigh. "Who knows how much damage has already been done and we'll never really know."

Argo just shrugged. "We put the word out as soon as we found out, so it's not on us now."

"There's still Asuna." Kiriko stated, getting her friend to flinch at the faux pas.

"Look… I know she's your friend, Ki-bou… but I don't really know her. I'm your friend, not hers." Argo said with a slight grimace on her lips. "I'll help out with what I can, like I'm doing right now, but I'm not going to stick my neck out for her."

Kiriko worried her bottom lip. "You could try being friends with her."

"Not happening." Argo shook her head. "A 'friendship' based off pity? I'll pass on that anydays. I'd be different if she actually did anything on her own, but she's a real wallflower whenever I see her."

"That's what we're trying to help her with." Tiffany pointed out.

"Well, good luck with that." The sandy-blonde stated before gesturing to the girl between her and Tiffany. "I'm here to make sure Ki-bou is okay and make sure she isn't hurt by this. I'll even look after her sister because she's family... but this 'marriage' is a sham and I won't have anything to do with it."

"Look," she held up a hand to stop her companions, "I'm not going to wreck, whatever this is, but I'm not going to do any more than that either. It just doesn't feel right to 'play along'."

Kiriko let out a sigh but nodded, as they entered the small hole-in-the-wall cafe. She'd had so many second thoughts, since waking up this morning to drink in Asuna's adoring eyes, that she almost ran out of numbers to count. Part of her believed that the only reason the brunette agreed to go separate ways till the next morning was because Asuna wished to treat tomorrow like a wedding and honeymoon combined.

Sitting down at one of the three tables, she rubbed her face with her hands. "I don't like it either, Agro. She tricked me into this but if there's a chance to help her… to help my friend, I have to try." The raven-haired girl said with a tired sigh. "I don't know… maybe it's a good thing that we found out so early."

"There's a lot of things you can do with 'maybe'." Argo commented. "I prefer hard facts."

"Well, I can tell you one thing, there's never 'hard facts' when dealing with people." Tiffany said as she accepted the small menu from the server.

"Oh, I know that. That's why I deal with information and not people." Argo grinned at the muscular woman. "Thing is, it just so happens that if you have the information, you can figure out people."

"Well… I hope I can find that info and help Asuna."

o0O0o

12 Dec 2022 - Day 36

The day started just like the previous one had, finding her arms wrapped around a warm, soft body, her steely blue eyes drinking in the sight of her stunningly beautiful wife, a silky chestnut-brown halo encircling the very personification of sleeping serenity.

Her breath hitched.

A hum emerged from the waking beauty, her bright brown eyes fluttering open to focus on Kiriko, a warm smile forming with the contented sigh as her arms hugged the raven-haired girl closer.

"Good morning, Asuna."

The brunette leaned in a planted a chaste kiss on the girl in her arms. "Good morning, my Kiriko-chan." She greeted, setting her forehead against her wife's and sharing a look of unadulterated devotion.

They stayed like that, looking deep into each other's eyes as the world around them turned, each searching for something hidden deep in the 'windows of the soul' of the other girl.

One was searching for the wants and desires of the girl wrapped in her arms. Willing to do everything to be that person her love wanted.

The other was searching for who the girl wrapped in her arms used to be. Willing to be something she wasn't to help this person who loved her.

Kiriko flinched as the alarm went off in her ear. "We need to get up and ready, Asuna. We have a busy day ahead."

"Yes, dear."

They separated and slid out opposite sides of the bed, stretching away the sleep from their muscles as they prepared for the day.

Swiping open her menu, Kiriko activated her standard equipment loadout, the all black ensemble of shirt, skirt and coat appearing before gravity took hold fully to settle on her body. She tapped the toe of her black leather boots to the floor to help them fit right.

"But what about the dresses?" Asuna asked in confusion.

Kiriko smiled and the girl relaxed. "Those are for this evening. I've got something else planned for today."

Asuna smiled with a nod, "Okay." A few moments later, she too was wearing her equipment of a white skirt and leather chest piece over a red sleeveless shirt. She also adjusted her red leather boots for comfort before smiling at her wife. "I'm ready!"

"Then shall we?" Kiriko offered her left hand with a smile.

The girl in white stepped forward and held it softly before intertwining their fingers. "We shall."

They made their way out of the hotel and onto the early morning streets, the sun having barely crested the ridges of the rooftops, leaving light and shadow to dance between the alleys and buildings.

They walked silently down the cobblestone path, Asuna breathing in the crisp clean air before smiling at the raven-haired girl holding her hand. She squeezed and received one in return before Kiriko pointed ahead, drawing her eyes to a small cafe with a person sweeping the doorway.

The young woman sweeping the way noticed their approach with a smile, waving towards them. They returned the gesture before being escorted inside, taken up to the second floor where a small table and chairs were set up on a balcony to look over the quiet street below. Kiriko helped the brunette girl into her seat before finding her own across the table.

"I will return in a moment with your orders." The waitress gave a slight bow after filling the water glasses. She then turned and went back downstairs, footsteps echoing off the wood stairs.

Seeing the confused glance, Kiriko chuckled. "I set this up yesterday. It's why I set that alarm."

"Oh, so a special breakfast?" Asuna arched a thin eyebrow.

"You could say that." Kiriko smiled mysteriously, a hint of mischievousness to her bright eyes.

The brown haired waitress' footsteps announced her approach, a serving tray on one arm while a folding stand was in the hand. Asuna looked on with anticipation as the woman set the tray upon the stand and started unloading it, starting with a tea set which she set unpoured in the center.

Then the silverware and cloth napkins and finally the plates of steaming food.

Before Asuna was placed a plate of fried eggs and hashed potatoes. Before her wife was placed a plate of fried fish and pickled radishes.

She glanced up into light blue eyes and scrunched her brow in confusion at Kiriko's hidden giggle.

"You don't remember?" The raven-haired girl asked before gesturing towards the food before them. "This is the first meal we shared together."

Bright brown eyes flicked from the girl to the meal and back, Asuna's lips forming a soft sad smile. "I had forgotten…"

"Just because you can't remember doesn't mean it's lost."

Asuna blinked at her wife's words, quirking her head slightly at the odd phrasing. She watched her wife lean over and pour the steaming tea into her cup and then fill her own, flashing a smile. Asuna couldn't help but smile back.

"Eat up. I've got another surprise for once we're done."

"I can't wait! I'm sure it will be amazing."

o0O0o

Asuna couldn't keep the blush from her cheeks and, if she were honest, she never wanted it to end.

As they walked down the street, leaving the cafe behind them, she could feel the looks upon them as they walked hand in hand, fingers intertwined.

Glancing to the girl holding her hand, she smiled and felt her cheeks heat up even more.

Kiriko chuckled and leaned in to peck the girl on the lips, surprising Asuna before she melted against the black clad girl to rest her head on Kiriko's shoulder.

"You really are beautiful." Kiriko quietly said, softly squeezing her wife's hand.

The brown haired girl just let out a pleased sigh, letting her love guide her through the slowly waking city.

She broke out of her pleasant haze with a blink as they stopped before what looked like an unremarkable buildings save for the sign declaring it to be 'The Cookery'.

Kiriko gently separated them, save for their still intertwined hands, and led them inside to find a single room dedicated to the culinary arts.

A large rotund man with comically large blonde mustache braids sticking out from each side of his mouth moved his way up to them, his pegleg clicking against the stone floor. "What do you two want?"

Asuna frowned at the disrespectful demand but let her wife speak. "We want to learn to cook."

"Of course you do." The man muttered, stroking one of his yellow braids that seemed to spring back into place with every pass. "Alright. Let's see if you have the gift or if you're just wasting my time."

"Thank you very much." Kiriko bowed slightly, Asuna mimicking her an instant later. "I'm Kiriko and this is my wife, Asuna." She gestured to the girl beside her, who smiled warmly.

"The name's Zeff and we're wasting daylight when we could be feeding the hungry." The large man sprung his mustache once more before turning around and moving towards a long counter full of ingredients that were scattered haphazardly across it. "We just got our delivery but the lazybones just left it right here in a pile. Sort them into their correct category onto the island behind you."

The girls glanced behind them, seeing the island running the length of the room had labels for Meats, Fruits, Vegetables and Spices.

"You have five minutes. Begin."

"I'll get the meats." Kiriko stated, picking up a package of pork and one of beef.

Asuna nodded, picking up the bottles and packages of spices. "I'll get these."

It took a minute before the pile of ingredients was reduced, though still leaving a mixed bag of plant products. These, they whittled away at, and soon enough the counter was empty.

Kiriko looked towards Asuna and scrunched her brow. "What's wrong?"

Asuna flicked her eyes between the Fruits and Vegetables, tapping her lips before she moved some things around and nodded. "Done!"

"So you say." Zeff stepped up and scowled at the island, stroking his whiskers. "What is that about?"

Kiriko looked to the line of tomatoes straddling the line between the two plant categories.

"Tomatoes are a fruit but used like a vegetable." Asuna replied with a smile.

Zeff looked at her for a silent moment before chuckling. "Cheeky girl." He moved further into the kitchen area, his pegleg clicking along the floor with every other step.

The girls followed him to a wall of stoves, a placard by each one with a recipe on it. "Using the ingredients you just sorted, complete all four of the recipes. You have two hours."

"Asuna." Kiriko called out, making the girl pause her movements towards the ingredients table. "I think we're supposed to use the skill assist for this."

"Skill assist?" She repeated in confusion. "Is that like the Arts system?"

"Exactly, only it's used for the crafting system." Kiriko opened her menu and went to the Skills menu and found the Cooking(Training) entry. "I read the Argo's Guide covering the crafting skills and it says we're able to use the skill even if we don't have an open slot if we're doing the unlock quest. Like getting a sample of ice cream to see if you like the flavor before buying it."

Asuna went through the same steps her wife did before blinking. "Oh. They have little movies."

The raven-haired girl moved over and saw a featureless outline performing the manuvors, such as cutting vegetables or meats by touching the knife to the ingredient, then touching it again to dice and so on. Another slideshow like video showed other cooking related actions the skill assist would make easier.

"I think we can still do everything the 'real' way if we want but this will make the quest faster and easier." Kiriko informed the other girl.

Asuna smiled. "It will be fun either way as long as we do it together!"

With that, they equipped the training skill and started working down the line. They took turns with one reading and the other performing the steps at Kiriko's suggestion.

"It smells good." Kiriko sniffed the open pot.

Asuna ran a finger along the placard. "It needs to simmer for fifteen minutes. Should we move onto the next one?"

"Remember, the first one needs stirred soon, too." Kiriko reminded, looking at the ingredients list. "We need chicken breast, celery and onions to start for this one."

"It's my turn to gather the ingredients." Asuna stated, moving over to gather them up.

Kiriko watched her walk away. "I guess I'll stir the soup."

Soon enough, all they had left was to watch the soups and stews simmer away, stirring intermittently. Kiriko claimed the first two pots, leaving the other two to Asuna.

Eventually, the time was up and Zeff wandered up, inspecting each dish. "Decent but there's definitely room for improvement."

Kiriko glanced at the girl beside her. "So, did we pass?"

"Yes, girl, you two passed." Zeff nodded with a hint of a smile on his lips. "Now go and never be hungry."

"Thank you, Master Zeff!" Kiriko thanked the man with a bow, Asuna mirroring a moment later.

Stepping outside of 'The Cookery' and back into the sunny day, Kiriko turned to the brunette beside her. "Did you have fun?"

"Of course! I was with you!" Asuna responded with a wide smile.

Kiriko just looked at the radiant girl before glancing away with a blush, reaching out to grab the other girl's hand.

"So, where do you want to go next?" Asuna asked with the same radiant smile.

"Well, working with all that food made me hungry… So, lets get some lunch before we get dressed for tonight." Kiriko suggested.

"Alright."

o0O0o

"Hey, Argo."

"Hey, yourself-sa." Argo greeted back with a grin that emphasized her whisker marked cheeks, stepping out of the way for he girl to enter the hotel room. "Tis over in the chair."

"Thanks." Kiriko responded, swiping open her menu.

"So, how tis it going?" Argo asked as she watched the girl dequip her combat gear in Argo's hotel room.

"About as well as I expected." Kiriko answered, turning away and removing her black bra.

Argo quirked an eyebrow at the lack of embarrassment the girl was showing as she pulled her dress out of the dress bag Argo had offered to hold overnight. "Tis that a good or bad thing-sa?"

Pulling the dress over her head and shimmying into it, the girl pulled her hair loose from the clothing and started adjusting the lay of the dress. "I don't know." Slipping on the heels, crouching at the knee to strap them on, she stood and turned to her friend, arms wide. "How does it look?"

The sandy-blonde let out a hum, stepping over and picking at parts of the dress to settle it differently. "You look good but your hair needs brushed out."

"Ah… I knew I forgot something!"

Argo giggled as Kiriko rapped the side of her head with a knuckled hand. "Here, sit down." Argo directed as she placed chair before the bed.

"Thanks for the help." The girl said, handing over the freshly materialised hairbrush and sitting down.

"Tis a little self serving, actually." Argo admitted, loosening her friend's ponytail to start brushing it out. "Yes, I get to help a friend but I also get more information about the effects the death mechanics have-sa. Tis something we can't ignore."

"Yeah…" Kiriko let out a sigh, folding her hands in her lap.

"We've had two raids against Floor Bosses and there's been losses for each one-sa." Argo commented, running the brush through silky raven hair, making it shine in the sun streaming through the window. "Tis a matter of time before effects might prevent the current players from fighting effectively or scare others from hunting or any number of things-sa."

"Maybe we're overestimating the effects death has on us but tis something to be wary of-sa. So we study the most extreme case we can find."

"Which is Asuna, I know."

"Tis not certain-sa." Argo corrected with a shrug. "I've been thinking about it and tis many reasons for someone to break. Yes, the death mechanic might be part or all of the reason but we just don't know-sa." She finished by gathering up the raven hair before her and tying it up once more.

When she tried to stand, Kiriko felt her being pushed back down. "Argo?"

"Just sit still-sa." She directed, forcing the girl to look forward before unbinding her hair once more and doing something to it. "Can Ki-bou see herself with Asuna for the rest of the game?"

"Don't you mean rest of our life?"

Argo snickered, flipping her hands through an elaborate dance. "'Till death do us part' has lost some of it's meaning, eh-sa?"

"Oh. I see your point." She looked at her lap, feeling Argo doing something with her hair behind her, tickling her scalp with deft fingers. "I'm not sure. She's beautiful and I think I feel like I could love her but…"

"You don't right now." The sandy-blonde finished when her friend trailed off.

"I guess." Kiriko shrugged. "What is love? What does it feel like? How can I expect to know if I've never experienced it before?"

"I wish I could help you but that's not information I deal in-sa." Argo half joked as she finished tying up the hair with a small black ribbon. "All done! Take a look."

Reaching behind her head, Kiriko felt her hair bound together in a bumpy mass as she stood and made her way towards the mirror in the room. Turning her head to the side, she felt the bound hair swing with greater inertia compared to her normal ponytail, almost flipping over her shoulder.

Looking in the mirror, she saw the large exaggerated braids going down her back, the last bit of her hair blending in where her dress started mid back.

"Now you're looking amazing!" Argo stated with a smile but it shifted to a sad one after a moment. "Just don't get hurt for this, okay-sa?"

"I don't want to be."

The sandy-blonde information dealer let out a sigh, stepping forward to hug her friend. "Just… make sure you can live with the choice you make, okay?"

Kiriko just hugged her friend back and nodded into her hair. "I will."

o0O0o

Kiriko had plenty to think about as she strolled to the meeting point for her 'honeymoon' date with Asuna.

One constant thought niggling at the back of her mind were the looks being thrown her way as she quietly made her way down the early evening streets of the Town of Beginning. The girls and women she passed would either smile in commiserate happiness at the girl looking ready for her evening date while others would stare with envy for the same reason. These were… interesting and a little flattering but still odd feeling, all things considered.

Really, it was the hungry gazes of the younger men that watched her stroll past, her braided hair swaying with each stride, that made her feel wary and uneased.

Sure, Kiriko had gotten used to the occasional male gaze flicking to her when she was walking around in her combat clothes but she caught women's gazes as well, both of which she just attributed to her rather iconic black leather coat. She knew it marked her as the 'Black Death' to anyone in the know but she figured the random person wouldn't know and just figured she got a rare drop, which she had.

No, these gazes weren't able to be explained away like that, not with the frequency and lingering compared to normal. The worst part of it all was, as she used to be a guy, Kiriko knew exactly what they were looking at… and why.

A shiver crawled down her partially uncovered back as someone whistled.

She just faced forward and clenched her teeth, focusing on the light clicking of her heels against the cobblestones beneath her feet.

Kiriko was the first to arrive at the fountain selected for the meeting point, a multi-tiered decoration to the open plaza, water falling from the smallest top tier into progressively larger basins to splash and burble before reaching the large pool below. Moving towards it, she carefully sat on one of the stone benches surrounding it, facing outward and on the lookout for her date for the evening.

As the minutes passed, Kiriko swiped open her menu and looked at the clock before letting out a breath.

She was noticeably early.

Realising that, a bit of tension left her shoulders and she allowed herself to just close her eyes and listen to the mixture of falling water and people milling around and through the plaza.

Even with that small knot of anticipation in her stomach, it felt good to just sit down and relax for a few minutes.

"Hey, babe. You're lookin' pretty nice tonight."

And that peace was shattered not a minute into it, causing her to glare at the scruffy looking teen obviously leering at her through a toothy grin. "What do you want?"

"Seeing how you're already dressed for a night on the town, I can show you a nice place." The orange haired teen's grin widened as his eyes didn't quite meet her face.

Steely blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "I'm waiting for someone, so please leave."

"You say that, but you've been here for a while." Meaning he'd been watching her. "No matter how good he treats you, I'm sure I could show you a better time."

"I said 'leave'. You're making a big mistake here." She waved a hand away from herself.

Something in his eye changed and he grabbed that wrist with a pull, forcing Kiriko to stand up or fall to the cobblestones. "I don't think you under-"

Kiriko's eyes shot wide and she shoved him away, the steel rapier piercing the air before his shocked eyes a split instant later.

"Don't you dare touch her! She's mine!" Asuna snarled, eyes wide and pinprick tight, sliding out of her stab to stand between him and the black glad girl.

"You crazy bitch!" The man yelled as he regained his balance, hand gripping his shortsword, ready to draw it. His scowl twisted into a misshapen grin once more. "But I can do two women at once and crazy can be fun, too."

"I'll kill you!" Asuna screamed in rage, drawing her hand back for another Art. The arm jerked to a straining stop, Kiriko's grip halting it just before she could activate the weapon skill and murder the male before them.

"Asuna, stop!"

The strain immediately ceased, though the brunette continued to stare down the interloper with seething hatred in her golden brown eyes. "You only live because of her... now leave our sight!"

"Is there a problem here?"

Three sets of eyes glanced towards the small squad of armored guards arrayed in a line, eyeing the Adventurers before them. The orange haired man shot his right hand at the girl dressed in white, keeping his other ready to draw his sword. "Yeah, there is! This crazy bitch tried to kill me!"

"He tried to force himself on my Kiriko-chan!" She screamed back, point of her rapier still oriented towards the man with Kiriko's soft hand holding it. "Kiriko-chan's MY wife and I'll drive my blade through the eye of anyone who tries to force themselves on her!"

"Is this true?" The leader of the squad looked towards the still silent girl in black, who just nodded back. "Can anyone else bare witness?"

"I saw him grab her arm and yank her off the bench." A woman's voice called out from the circled players, getting most of the crowd to frown at him. Seeing himself surrounded by people, the orange haired man looked around nervously.

"Sir, I think you should come with us. Peacefully." The squad leader of the guards fingered his sheathed sword, his men doing the same, preparing for a probable struggle.

The man looked around one last time before slowly letting go of his sword hilt and raising his hands nervously. "Yeah… sure. I don't want no problems."

The armored guardsmen surrounded the man and escorted him away, most likely to the Black Iron Keep but Kiriko had other things to worry about. "Asuna… it's alright. You can relax."

With those words, the girl's sword-arm dropped and she let out a breath, her body sagging from its combat state. "They're evil. You should have let me kill him for you."

"All I want is for you to put your sword away and forget this happened." Kiriko stated, blinking as Asuna swiped open her menu with her free hand and dequipped the weapon before turning to face her with a warm smile.

"You look absolutely wonderful, Kiriko-chan."

Steely blue eyes blinked in bewilderment as Kiriko watched the sudden shift in the girl's temperament. "Ah… thank you, dear. You look amazing, too." She took a deep breath and hugged the girl, hiding her face into the crook of the brunette's neck. "I'm glad you're here."

"I'll always be there for my Kiriko-chan." Asuna hugged the girl back, a serene smile on her lips.

A shiver ran down the black clad girl's spine before Kiriko took a deep breath and leaned away to flash a small smile before noticing the people milling around the plaza still staring at them. "Let's get out of here."

o0O0o

Cutting off another small piece, Kiriko chewed the bit of braised mutton with a hum of appreciation. "This is so good!"

"It really is!" Asuna smiled as she worked away at her own plate of amazing food.

"You know, I think I'll spend a slot on the cooking skill if I can just make this." Kiriko gestured to her plate. "I just have to think about what I'm going to have to give up for it."

"Kiriko-chan doesn't have to give anything up! I'll cook for her!" Asuna stated with certainty.

The raven-haired girl smiled at the declaration but it didn't quite meet her eyes, choosing to take a sip of the fruity, red wine instead. She'd made it a point to spread the one glass through the entire dinner, choosing to mainly drink from the iced water provided as an alternative.

"What are your plans for the future?"

Asuna blinked at the question. "I'll be with Kiriko-chan."

"No, I mean, what do you want to do in the future?" The girl in the black dress corrected her question, setting her utensils down to focus on the brunette before her.

The white dressed girl quirked her head slightly. "To stay with you and help you achieve your goals."

"You know my goal is to beat the game and…" Kiriko stopped talking with a breath, closing her eyes for a moment. "So, you'll do anything I choose to accomplish."

Asuna nodded with a smile, letting out an affirmative hum. "Your desires are my desires!"

Kiriko looked at the girl and carefully asked her next question. "What if I want you to do something you don't want to do?"

"Then you must have a reason and I trust you."

The raven-haired girl reached out and took a large drink of the wine, leaving very little left in the glass. Setting it own, she looked over the table at her smiling companion, the candle between them casting flickering highlights over her face. "So, you're saying you'd do anything I wanted."

"Yes." Asuna nodded. "If you're happy, I'm happy; if you're sad, I'll be sad."

Kiriko just looked into the eyes of the smiling girl, looking for something in those dark depths. "Let's get out of here and go someplace quiet."

The blush on Asuna's face grew as her smile did. "Alright."

They left their plates, meal mostly uneaten, behind them.

o0O0o

The two girls traveled the streets of the Town of Beginning, one blending with the twilight save her creamy skin flashing like stars in the night sky while her companion shined like the moon. Walking hand in hand, they exited the starting city via the smaller western exit, walking the path that wandered near the barrier that marked the boundary between Aincrad and the cloud filled void below.

Whether it was because of the recently setting sun or the developers designed it that way before the Calamity, the two of them made their way without coming across a single mob.

Reaching the end of the path, Kiriko looked about at the scattered groupings of trees and flowering bushes, each one hiding a couple within the hidden nook, so long as the flowers were in full bloom. It was an actually ingenious way the devs thought up to prevent couples from being accidentally interrupted, at least that's what Kiriko thought as she led her new wife through the gardens.

Reaching an unoccupied copse, the two girls sat on the marble bench, the foliage flowering into a grand display of colored lights, the flowers themselves providing their own luminescence.

Asuna let out a happy sigh, leaning against the dark haired girl as they looked out over the city in the distance, the stars and moon shining in the night sky.

"When I asked you 'why', you told me four simple words."

Asuna leaned her head to look up at her wife. "Because I love you."

Kiriko nodded, still looking out over the city they'd first woken up in after the Calamity. "Because you love me." She let out a sigh. "At the time, I couldn't process those words… the fact that someone who'd only known me for a few weeks could so confidently say those four simple words."

Her voice faded away into the night, her wife content to just let her work through her thoughts.

"So I walked away… trying to figure things out and sort through my feelings."

Once more, words washed away with the cool night breeze.

"Thankfully, my friends helped me… helped set today up for… for us both." Kiriko took a deep breath, Asuna felt the girl shudder through their touching shoulders. "To help me help you."

Asuna blinked at that but silently let her wife continue.

"I do love Asuna..."

Those words filled Asuna's heart with a warm fluffy feeling, a smile growing on her lips.

"...but not as you are now."

Her heart missed a beat, cold dread flooding what was warm before.

"I don't know what happened to you… if it was the Calamity, the effects of your deaths afterwards or something before you even put on the Nervegear that led you to me… but something broke you, Asuna." She shifted and turned to face the white dressed girl, holding her hands. "Something horrible happened that turned a beautiful girl into what you are now and I wish I could have been there to stop you from hurting."

Tears welled from Kiriko's eyes as she smiled sadly at the confused girl before her. "I do love you, Asuna. As a friend. My best friend. But…" She took a breath. "Not as a lover… not as a wife."

Asuna felt her heart crack at those words, tears starting to well in her own eyes, trailing wet tracks down her face as she watched her… the girl before her in growing terror.

"You told me that you'd do anything for me. That my goals are your goals. That you… that you'd trust me, even if I tell you to do something you hate." Kiriko continued to smile sadly. "So… I'm going to tell you what I want and what my goals are."

Kiriko stood up and stepped away a pace away, leaving Asuna on the bench to watch her, the flowers closing and leaving the area a darker place for her loss.

"My desire is to see you become a strong, independent woman who has desires of her own that she wants to accomplish. A woman who will fight for what she wants but isn't afraid to be alone. What I want is a wife who I can love and be loved by… not a servant or robot programmed to attend to my every need."

"Stand with me but also fight against me if you feel you must! Love me but love yourself first! Help me obtain my desires but never forget your own! You can be… You are better than this and I won't accept you as you are right now!" She cried out, tears streaming down her face as she ripped the ribbon out of her braid and shook it out to retie it into her normal ponytail.

"So… So, I'm going to hurt you, even as it hurts me." She swiped open her menu. "I will tear out your heart even as it rips out my own." She moved to the inventory tab. "And… if it's the only way to fix you… I will break you even as it breaks me."

The black dress and heels shifted to her combat kit in a blur, gravity taking hold after a second before her black long coat swayed in the breeze, her sword sticking over her right shoulder.

Kiriko cried burning tears as she watched the scared looking girl shaking her head slowly before her, taking a deep shaky breath to give herself strength to continue.

"Can you do it? Can you become strong, in mind, body and soul, to become the woman that can claim my heart… or will you stay broken and fade away, leaving me all alone."

A spark lit in the brown haired girl's eyes as they narrowed towards the girl drawing a blade darker than the night.

"I challenge you, Yuuki Asuna."

The blade fully left the scabbard with the hiss of death, Asuna's eyes watching the weapon cut the air with a song of silence. A window asking if she wanted to accept the duel request popping open before her.

"So, will you fight for your desires, even if it's against the one you desire? If you won't even fight for your own heart and feelings, how can you fight to win mine? Just remember after tonight, I'll be waiting for you… waiting to see the wonderful, happy, lively, beautiful, proud, funny, loving woman you can become…

She smiled sadly as the girl in white stood and pressed 'Accept', the thirty second timer appearing and counting down.

"Because I love you."

END OF CHAPTER 8

o0O0o

A/N

I was going to write a big author's note covering my thoughts on this chapter… but I'll just let this ride on it's own merit.

See you next time.


	9. Chapter 9

Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

12 Dec 2022 - Day 36

The severed arm shattered like it was made of glass when it hit the ground, leaving a polished rapier to bounce once before it settled to rest on the cool grass.

Asuna let out a hiss as she cradled the stump where her right arm ended, the Pain Management System pegging its threshold but still failing to reach the mind-warping excruciating agony dismemberment would have caused in real life.

The white clad girl slumped to her knees, tears streaming down her face as she looked to the ground, unable to face the one who did this to her. "I… I can't…"

"I know." Kiriko acknowledged, her sword returning to its scabbard with a click of finality, even as the girl looked utterly exhausted as she eyed her untouched healthbar. "But you will… eventually."

Swiping open her menu, she maneuvered through the sub-menus, Asuna watching with dread as she realised where Kiriko stopped. With a final swipe of her finger, she slammed the slider all the way to zero percent 'No Fault' and pressed the Accept button.

Asuna's dark brown eyes flinched as another window opened but blinked as it appeared before the dark clad girl instead of herself.

Kiriko stared at the confirmation window warning her that her selection would give everything in the shared inventory to her spouse and cause an immediate, irreversible divorce, finger hovering over it as the seconds passed.

Letting out a sigh, the dark haired girl slumped before declining the action, the window winking out to leave tired steely blues to bore into the wide brown eyes of the girl cradling her slowly reforming limb.

Raising her left hand, Kiriko flicked her eyes towards the golden band glinting in the moonlight before focusing once more on the girl who was still her wife. "A symbol to tell other people that we're married…" She clenched the hand into a fist and released it. "No… It's a reminder of what you're fighting for. Where every time you see it, you think of me and the trial I gave you."

"Once we beat the tenth floor, I'll test your progress… to see you grow as a person into the strong, independent woman I know you can be." Kiriko stated, rubbing a tired hand down her face, spending a moment to rub her eyes. "But to reach that point, we must both follow three rules."

"What must I do?" Asuna whispered into the night air.

Kiriko sliced a hand through the air before pointing from Asuna to her herself. "What both of us must do! For everything I'm asking of you, I will also accomplish because I need to be worthy of the woman you become just as much as you need to become someone worthy of my heart." She looked into the other girl's eyes with purpose. "You can always reject them but..."

"What are they?"

Kiriko's lips tinged up with the hint of a sad smile as she held up a finger. "First, we cannot seek each other out intentionally. If we meet because of friends or by chance, we can talk and be friends but that's it. We can even help the same friend do a quest but we have to go our separate ways afterwards." She smiled but shook her head. "How can you learn to be strong if you never walk your own path?"

Seeing the sad look on Asuna's face, Kiriko sighed. "We can also send each other one message per day. A small one to keep in contact as friends, like I'd do with Klein or Tiffany to see how things are going."

"I understand." Asuna nodded at the rule.

"Second," Kiriko held up two fingers, "We must attend every meeting and be selected to participate in each Floor Boss raid. I'll be telling Argo and Diavel to treat both of us like any other player, so we have to earn our spots." She shrugged her shoulder, making the sword on her back shift. "That means we'll both have to be the strongest players in level, skill and willpower on each floor."

"I'll be at your side every time." Asuna stated with conviction, face showing a blossoming determination.

"Good, because I'm going to be clearing this game, floor by floor, so you have to be strong enough to stand with me. Good enough to challenge me."

Asuna nodded with a spark of something appearing in her eyes.

"And the last one." She flashed three fingers before shifting to a stern look that broke no argument. "We cannot die. That means doing everything you can, even running away from battle, to stay alive." She stated, stepping forward and kneeling before the brunette girl, placing her hands onto Asuna's shoulders. "I want you to get better and you dying might make things worse… and you dying would hurt me, just like my dying would hurt you." She touched the girl's nose with a grin. "So, let's live for each other."

"I will live for you." The brunette declared, a fire growing in her heart as she nodded.

"And I will wait for you until you become the woman you were meant to be." Kiriko smiled before wrapping her arms around Asuna and leaning in, softly kissing Asuna's soft parted lips as they kneeled on the grass. After what seemed like forever, she leaned back gasping for air, smiling at the shocked look on her now and future wife's face. "I believe in you, Yuuki Asuna."

Long after Kiriko left her vision, the raven-haired girl's soft footsteps lost to the sounds of the night, a congratulatory fanfare filled the air proudly declaring Asuna's victory in the duel.

o0O0o

15 Dec 2022 - Day 39

The blonde young woman let out a cry of challenge, the Treant Sapling turning around to glare at her with spooky glowing slits in it's trunk. Holding the flat of her greatsword before her, she absorbed the swinging branch's blow, forced to take a step back to keep her balance.

Eyes flashing, she let out a wordless yell as her Counter Helix Art activated, blade flashing a blood-red ring around her to bite into the plant monster's thick wooden trunk.

The ping of a separate Art activating emanated from behind the monster, multiple slashes cutting into the course bark of the monster before it let out a groan and shattered away.

"You're using that move too much." Kiriko commented to her sister, sheathing her Annealed Blade. "Eventually, you're going to use it on instinct at the wrong time."

"What do you want? It's a good move." Leafa shrugged, hooking her own blade onto her back. "It's basically designed for grinding lower level mobs. Tell me I'm wrong." She finished with a grin.

Kiriko just rolled her eyes. "You're wrong."

Leafa blinked at that quick reply before she pouted. "Nee-chan's being a meanie again! Help me, As..." She trailed off when she looked to where the girl would usually be and slumped.

Kiriko let out a sigh as the event played itself out yet again, the second time just today and maybe the eighth since she and Asuna went their separate ways. "Come on, Sugu. Let's keep going." She said, moving up and wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders.

The blonde nodded dejectedly and started moving down the misty path. "I miss her."

"I know." Kiriko simply replied, having already told Leafa about the situation… and dealing with the yelling, screaming and crying involved with that 'discussion'. Having figured out what would comfort her sister, even if just a little, she opened the menu and activated a specific map function.

The map zoomed out of the third floor, showing the entire tower before zooming back into the first floor, specifically the area around Horunka village and the pink dot moving about the forests there. "Looks like she's still working on that quest."

The message she'd received from her nominal wife that morning had said something about a quest she'd found while exploring the Town of Beginnings. It involved something to do with a researcher needing samples of normal and 'corrupted' berries from the Nepenthes near the village.

She'd sent a response wishing her luck and that her sister said hello, though Leafa had sent her own message anyways.

Though she hadn't directly told Asuna how to get the Nepenthes to flower, she'd given her the hint that she should see Meshack the innkeeper for a good meal.

"I wish we could go see her." Leafa said, again.

Kiriko let out a tired breath. "I already told you, you can go see her whenever you want. You just have to go without me." She disengaged with her sister and swiped the air to close the window. "Maybe you should take off tomorrow and do just that."

"But… then you'll be alone." The blonde looked at her sadly.

The girl in the black long coat just rolled her eyes. "I think I can survive being by myself for a day or two, Sugu."

"Nee-chan's being a meanie again." Leafa pouted at her.

Kiriko chuckled. "Maybe that's your hint to take a break from her and visit your friend."

"Fine! Fine." Leafa threw her hands in the air. "I'll go see A-chan and see how she's doing."

"Tell her I said hi."

"Tomorrow. Right now, we need to find that darn spider nest." Leafa reminded her sister. "It was around this area when Klein and I were working on that Guild Creation quest."

"Someone probably killed the Broodmother, so it moved." Kiriko stated, looking around at the surrounding mists. "It's the first 'wandering dungeon'."

"Great… so that means more…" Leafa trailed off both her forward progress and complaint. Looking around, she narrowed her green eyes. "Do you hear that?"

Scrunching her brow, Kiriko strained her ears before shaking her head. "No."

"It's this way!" Leafa sprinted off into the mists.

"Sugu! Wait up!" The elder sibling shot off to keep close to the blonde, the swirling mists doing its best to make her lose sight.

"Leave her alone!" Leafa screamed, before letting out a growling yell, vision of the girl returning as the thin greatsword caught by another person in the gut with a crimson flashing Great Slice. The impact of the Art, blade crashing against crossed blades, swept the green clad person into the air to disappear into the mists. Leafa held her guard but glanced back with an eye at the woman pushing herself off the ground. "Are you okay?"

"W-who are you to-" The dark clad woman cut off her smokey voice before blinking at the blonde girl still standing guard. "A human?"

"You're a Dark Elf." Kiriko stated, getting an odd look from the woman with pointed ears.

"More humans?" She blinked and shook her head, readying her sword. "Nevermind! This doesn't concern you!"

"That's right, humans." A man growled, the green clad elf wiping the blood away from the corner of his mouth with a glare, his short hair a blend of autumn yellows and greens. "You had a lucky hi but you'll regret interfering any further. She has something that doesn't belong to her and we want it back."

"Lies!" The dark elf yelled back, angling her polished saber towards the other elf. "The Gate Key piece was ours to begin with! You Forest Elves are the thieves here! You and your false prince!"

"Rah!" The dark green haired forest elf threw himself forward towards the dark elf, rage in his eyes as he flashed out a long dagger in each hand.

He flipped over Leafa's wide swing, her Art flashing again to bathe the surrounding mist with crimson. Caught mid air, he failed to twist away fully from her sister's blade, which bit a shallow wound in his leg, causing the elf to hiss in pain. Even with this, he parried what he thought was the greater threat, sparks flying as the female elf's blade scraped against his crossed daggers.

Grimacing at his position, the man pushed off the steel saber, flipping into a crouched stance to see the three women arrayed against him. He narrowed his dark brown eyes in consternation. "So be it."

"Just walk away." Kiriko told the man, shifting her sword position slightly. "Don't throw your life away."

Hazel eyes flicked over each opponent readying themselves against him, teeth audibly grinding in frustration. Brow tightening as the blonde raised her grip to her shoulder, blade of that greatsword pointed towards him, even as his target softly shifted her front foot to the side.

"Fine!" He finally spat out, glaring daggers at the dark elf and then the human females preventing from completing his mission. "But this won't be the end of it. You've made a poor choice and you will eventually regret doing so."

The three women watched carefully as he backed away into the mists, stepping behind a tree and disappearing from sight.

Kiriko's eyes flashed blue as she activated her Search skill but failed to find the forest elf, so he had either left her search range or his hiding was too high for her skill to defeat. "Huh… I didn't expect that to work."

"Yes… I too am surprised that he would retreat." The dark elf admitted as well, though she continued scanning the mists, wary of a counterattack of some sort.

Leafa just grinned at the dark skinned woman. "It's cause we're awesome and he realised it!"

"No." Kiriko shook her head, sending her dark ponytail swinging. "I expected him to fight until one of them used a suicide move to take out the other."

"H-how-" The dark elf jerked towards the dark haired human, eyeing her before coming to a conclusion. "You've seen it happen."

Kiriko nodded. "Another fight like this. I didn't interfere and both died before I knew what was happening." Truthfully explaining what had happened during the Beta. The Quest popup telling her she could take the key item to either the dark elf encampment or the forest elf encampment to choose her side in the war explained things, but only after the fact.

"Well, I just saw him hurt you and jumped in to help!" Leafa declared her intentions for the fight, pulling a roll of bandages out of her quickslots. "Actually, let me get that for you."

"D-don't touch me!" The elf stepped away from the approaching blonde, a blush darkening her cheeks. "You may have provided valuable assistance but we hardly know each other!"

"But… I just want to bind your cut." Green eyes flicked from shocked violet to a softly bleeding nick on the woman's upper left arm.

"Sugu." Kiriko gained her sister's confused attention. "It… it might be an elf thing."

Leafa blinked at that before flashing a charinged look across her face. She bowed towards the dark elf. "I apologize for my mistake!"

"Ah…" The woman blinked in surprise. "No… you meant no offense and you know not our culture." She coughed and held out her uninjured arm. "I do appreciate the gesture, human."

"Leafa." The girl corrected, handing over the roll of bandages. "And that's my older sister, Kiriko."

"Then you have my thanks, Leafa and Kiriko." The violet haired woman nodded to each, starting to bind her wound. "I am Kizmel and you have done my people a great service this day."

"Hey! Don't talk like we're leaving you after this!" Leafa shook a finger at the blinking Kizmel. "Who knows if that creep is just waiting for us to leave and try to steal that key thingy from you again!"

"It's a piece of the Jade Key required to restore the Western Spirit Tree to full power." Kizmel corrected and informed the ernest girl. "And it is imperative that I return it to my Captain without delay."

"Then let's go! We'll watch your back." Leafa declared, glancing at her sister. "Right, Nee-chan?"

"Right." Kiriko nodded, before moving to flank the dark elf. "We'll make sure you complete your quest."

"I… I appreciate the offer but," Kizmel looked at both humans offering to help her before firming her face, "I must know your intentions behind such offers. I will not risk my people by allowing potential sabetours access to our encampment."

Leafa looked over to her sister, who just took a breath and gestured to speak first. "Well… I heard the fighting and just wanted to help. When I saw him kick you, I just thought I should stop him." She looked bashful, touching her fingers together. "Then I heard your words and felt I made the right choice."

Kizmel studied the blonde human, searching for any untruths but finding none. Nodding to her, the violet haired elf looked towards the elder sister. "And you?"

Kiriko just shrugged in response. "I was just following my sister and making sure she didn't get in over her head." A truthful statement, though definitely not the entire truth.

Kizmel narrowed her eyes at the black haired human. "But that's not everything."

"Well…" The human scratched at her cheek with a finger, glancing away slightly. "I like the way you look."

"W-what?" The elf shirked back, her cheeks darkened in surprise.

"N-nee-chan! What about Asuna!" Leafa yelled at her, ire and shock in her voice.

Kiriko blinked before flushing herself, waving both hands before her. "I mean your colors! I like dark colors!" She frantically pointed towards the different articles of clothing covering her body, even up to her hair, to try and prove her statement innocuous.

Kizmel coughed into a hand, choosing to ignore the last bit hadn't happened, save one point. "And this Asuna… who are they and can I expect them to join us?"

"Asuna's busy on the first floor, so I'm not expecting her to show up anytime soon." Kiriko coughed into her own hand, the blush staying on her cheeks as she shook her head. "And she's my… my wife."

"Wife?" Kizmel blinked. "What does that word mean? Some Human custom?"

Kiriko just sighed as she palmed her face, feeling the heat on her cheeks as she tried to think of a way to explain things to the confused elf before her.

Her sister's laughter wasn't helping.

o0O0o

Even though they failed to see any other people on their trip to the dark elf encampment, or at least where Kizmel said it was, the three women kept their guard up in case anyone tried to ambush them. Kizmel did so because she fully expected a forest elf counterattack, while the humans were on the lookout for both elves and other players.

Leafa didn't know if their path was meandering on purpose to avoid or confuse anyone trying to figure out where the dark elf encampment was but she eventually noticed that the trio hadn't encountered any Treant Saplings since letting the elf woman take the lead.

"Halt and be recognized!"

Leafa jerked at the softly spoken command, looking around wildly for the origin of the disguised voice.

"Kizmel, Pagoda Knight."

"Proof?" The voice inquired, still soft and calm but unlocatable.

The violet haired woman carefully reached into a pouch and withdrew what looked like an emblem or badge, flashing it different directions before returning it to the pouch.

"Status?"

"Mission complete with complications. These two humans ensured the mission's success and… saved my life."

Instead of responding, the voice held its tongue, causing a silence that carried for a long while. Eventually, a thin young man stepped out of the shadows cast by the large trees, his clothes making Leafa think 'ninja'. "They may enter but you must report to the Commander."

"Understood." The violet haired woman nodded before turning to the two humans. "Because you are not one of us, I must lead you in. Follow the same path I take or else you'll find yourself lost due to the charms we've placed on the trees.

"Charms? As in magic?" Leafa blinked, looking towards her sister. "I thought you said there wasn't any magic."

"We don't have access to magic, Sugu." Kiriko emphasized themselves before waving her hand towards the elven woman they had started following once more. "I never said anything about there being no magic at all in Aincrad."

"Indeed." Kizmel agreed. "Though magic is on the decline since the loss of the Throne of Wishes to Tiamat, we have managed to retain some vestiges of our birthright."

"How did you find out about Tiamat taking the Throne?" Kiriko asked, eyeing the elven woman from behind. "We learned it from Cardinal."

"Ah, the Goddess of the Humans." Kizmel made a sound of understanding. "Our own Goddess gave our Princess visions of such."

"Is that why you're at war with the Forest Elves?" Leafa asked, taking care to squeeze through the gap of a twin trunk tree, which Kizmel had just passed through a moment earlier.

"No… well, maybe." Kizmel seemed perturbed at trying to answer the question, a frown gracing her lips as she thought about it. "When the Princess had the vision, the Goddess declared that that only one race of elf would survive the coming change."

The two human girls shared a look at that, though Kizmel continued on, ducking under a set of branches intertwined between two trees. "The only way to ensure the dark elf race survives this trial is to be the first to reach and complete a ritual in the Royal Castle that anoints her the new Queen of the elven race."

"And if the Forest Elves promote their Prince to King…" Kiriko started before fading off.

"We will be no more." Kizmet succinctly stated, with melancholy in her voice before letting out a relieved breath as she turned the corner around another trio of trees and stopped to look beyond.. "And we have arrived."

Leafa quirked an eyebrow, seeing nothing but empty mists and shadows of trees… until she walked around the same bunch of trees and her eyes shot wide in shock. "What?!"

Kiriko blinked, seeing the same thing, but it wasn't her first time witnessing the encampment the dark elves used for a base on this floor.

While it wasn't enormous, the camp was rather large, sporting many small personal tents around much larger communal or military function tents. There was a single structure made of stone, which she knew was the smithy, along with a combat training area off to the side.

"Follow me." The violet haired elf directed, making a straight line towards the large tent in the direct center of the camp. The few elves they could see as they passed by were performing camp maintenance tasks, such as laundry or equipment maintenance, though most looked up and stared once they noticed the humans in the camp. Upon reaching the tent, Kizmel raised a hand for them to halt. "Wait here. I will return."

With that, the two human girls were left alone, surrounded by a race ready for a war of survival.

Leafa continued to gawk at the encampment, looking at the elves around them going about their tasks even as some of them continued to glance towards them as well. The blonde stopped swiveling her head around when she noticed her older sibling deep in thought. "What's wrong?"

Kiriko blinked and looked at her concerned sister. "Just thinking about the Elf War storyline."

"Didn't you go through this already?" Leafa asked, cocking her head slightly.

"Just like the main story for the game, they hid the reason for the Elf War." The dark haired girl replied softly, looking for any listening elves before cupping her chin as her thoughts went back to the Beta. "We were told the reasons for the individual quests and that the elves wanted to have their side's rulers become Queen or King but that was it. Once you completed the quest line, you just had an instanced castle that you and other players of the same side could enter full of Dark Elves. Anyone from the other side of the war would find the same castle full of Forest Elves and players from that faction."

"Now… now they're fighting for the survival of their species, whether it's Dark or Forest." She mused, not pleased with the new turn of events. Anything further was interrupted by Kizmel stepping out of the tent and beckoning them inside.

"The Commander will see you now."

o0O0o

The Dark Elf Commander was a dark skinned, young looking man with his black hair pulled back in a wolves tail. He wore an insignia on his collar that they assumed marked his rank, because the rest of his outfit was rather generic, save the three green sashes hanging from his belt.

He looked up from the map spreading over the table, little chits scattered about the illustration detailing the third floor of Aincrad, to spear the two humans with a dark look. "So you two are the ones who assisted Pagoda Knight Kizmel."

"Yes, Commander…" Kiriko answered but let it trail off leadingly.

"Craleil." He supplied with a nod, glancing towards the female elf who gave back a minute nod. Letting out a breath, he waved a hand towards the map between him and the humans. "This is the situation as it stands. We are almost able to complete the artifact that will power the Spirit Tree but so are the enemy, based off our latest scouting reports. The problem is, those reports are days old and I have scouts overdue on reporting in."

"So you want help finding the scouts?" Leafa asked, looking to the chits on the map.

"Just one." Craleil tapped beside a marker closer to the southern side of the floor but still away from the area the forest elf camp was hidden in. "His last report indicated an increase of enemy activity but then he went silent." He looked at them with his dark eyes. "Go with Kizmel, find out what happened, if he's still alive and what the enemy wanted in the area."

He held up a hand, forestalling the black haired girl. "Your assistance won't go uncompensated, both helping Kizmel and assisting with this matter." With that, he tossed two polished onyx rings to the table, each rolling to a stop before the humans. "Those are enchanted to allow safe passage through our camp wards and will mark you as allies to our forces."

"In addition to that," Craleil continued as the girls placed the rings on their right ring fingers, "you will have access to the camp smithy and training yards."

"Actually, I have a few questions if you don't mind." Kiriko stated, getting a nod from the camp commander. "First, the key shard Kizmel returned with, how many more do you need to complete the key?"

Craleil's eyes flicked to the indicated elf woman before back to the human before him. "As of right now we already have enough to complete the key. The issue is, we believe the enemy has the artifact needed to reassemble it."

Kiriko tapped her chin in thought, looking at the map. "So, if they had enough shards they could make their own key and use it on their own Spirit Tree."

"Correct, though we've been attempting to ensure any key shards found stay out of their control."

"Just how many shards are there?" Leafa wondered, scrunching her brows.

Kizmel shrugged and answered in stead of the camp commander. "No one knows. They haven't been needed for centuries, though legends mention dozens of keys."

"So… there's a chance that the forest elves already have enough to have a key but don't have the artifact either." Kiriko mused.

"That is a possibility we've considered but without more accurate reports, we cannot act." Craleil replied, tapping the map once more. "Hence the importance of finding this scout."

Kiriko glanced at her little sister and seeing something in her features, she let out a sigh. "Okay… we'll help find this scout." She saw the commander nod to her. "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you're able to."

o0O0o

"Great…" Leafa grumbled as she brought the greatsword down onto the screeching spiderling. "More spiders."

"It would make sense why the scout went missing." Kiriko stated, looking at her map window. "There's an opening that way." She pointed in said direction, Kizmel leading the way.

"Right, let's find this scout and get the heck out of here. I've had enough spiders for a good long while, thank you very much!" Leafa stated, pushing through even more webbing to follow the elf.

"I'm quite surprised you humans still have access to your magical storage devices, with the way you were surprised at our charms and even my being able to cast a few spells." Kizmel commented, looking around the new chamber for any signs of spiders or victims. Finding some of the former, she started lashing out with her saber, screeches of dying arachnids filling the air seconds later.

"Not all humans can access it." Kiriko informed her companion, slicing out with her own Sword Arts. She frowned as the monsters were taking more hits to kill as they advanced the floors. She'd need to look into a new weapon soon. "Since we're the… favored of Cardinal, she allows us to use it freely."

"You two are the Favored of Cardinal?" The woman's violet eyes widened at the proclamation.

"Oh, we're not the only ones." Leafa waved off the awe, becoming more bored with each spider they killed. "There's tens of thousands of us 'Favored', though we call ourselves Adventurers or Players, depending on who you ask. There's only… what a couple hundred that are on the front edge of clearing Aincrad, though."

"Tens of thousands…" The elven woman stared at the blonde, seeing the girl didn't know how astounding her words actually were. "There are that many of you Favored?"

"Yes, but as my sister said, only a bare fraction are clearing the tower of Corruption. The rest are… disillusioned, I guess." Kiriko tried to keep things in terms the elf would understand. "Cardinal cast a wide net when she summoned us."

That seemed to relax Kizmel a little, the woman taking and releasing a breath. "I think I understand… so you few who stepped forward are her real Favored while the rest are your support."

Kiriko thought about it a bit and nodded. "I guess that's not a bad way to put it."

"Hey! Shh!" Leafa hissed out, before twisting her head about. "Do you hear that?"

The sounds of clanking equipment trickled out from deeper in the nest, slowly becoming louder by the second.

"Quick, over here!" Kizmel directed the two humans with her, all three falling prone at the side of the room before she chanted a spell, the illusion of spider webs casting over them.

It was only a few moments later that a troop of players started trudging out of the depths, torches in hand for illumination. Kiriko's eyes widened as she recognized the player in the lead.

"Stupid knife-eared freaks!" Kibaou cursed, waving his torch to burn some webbing in his way. "Go find a dumbass scout, find out he's already dead. Stupid knife-ear didn't even have anything good on him."

"I don't know, man, the commander's kind of hot." One of his companions stated.

Kibaou stopped and gave the other man a flat look. "They aren't even real, you idiot."

"So?"

The scarred man sneered before giving it up as a lost cause. "Let's just go back and find wherever the fuck this 'Fel'Huran' place is. The sooner we're done with this war bullshit, the sooner we can unlock the Labyrinth."

"You do know this war goes on for the next few floors, right?"

"God damnit! Shut up, Carl!"

The three females stayed silent as the other players left the chamber they hid in, continuing their way out of the spider dungeon.

Figuring they'd waited long enough, Kiriko stood up and brushed off the webbing her jacket had picked up. "Well, that was interesting."

"What is he doing here?" Leafa scowled at the direction the scarred man and his posse had exited.

"Probably working with the Forest Elves." Kiriko answered, shaking her head, not for working with the other side but because he was still Kibaou.

"He said 'Fel'Huran'..." Kizmel muttered, cupping her chin in deep thought.

Leafa looked at the elf. "Is that a place?"

"It's an old elven ruin, from before the forest elves forsook us."

"Do you know where it is?" Kiriko asked, zooming her map to show the entire third floor.

Blinking at the effortless use of the magical miracle, Kizmel stepped over and put her finger through the map. "There. That's where Fel'Huran is."

The black haired teen looked at where they were and the distance to the indicated point, remembering to place a marker for future viewing. "An hour from here, maybe thirty minutes if we sprint the entire way."

"Don't we have to find that scout first?" Leafa asked with a raised eyebrow.

The two darker haired females shared a look before nodding. "His body have more useful information on it."

"Body!?" Leafa cringed. "Why do you think he's dead?"

"Because the forest elf scout Kibaou was looking for was dead." Kiriko clinically replied, zooming back into the dungeon view.

A few more minutes of searching, the area cleared by Kibaou's earlier efforts, and the trio found the scout's corpse wrapped up in a silk cocoon.

Kizmel spared the time to say a few words for the departed man and retrieved both his emblem and a message scroll hidden on his person.

With that, they left the nest behind, wondering exactly what they'd find at the ancient elven ruin and what made it so important to the Forest Elves.

END OF CHAPTER 9

o0O0o

A/N

Shorter chapter this time, mainly to resolve the Asuna arc and start up the Elf War arc.

As for the Forest Elf retreating, remember that this isn't a 'game' anymore, even if there's still game-like elements. Anything smarter than your average monster will use tactics and flee to save their lives if possible, especially if they're intelligent humanoids.

Concerning the Asuna arc, I hoped I made it clearer last chapter how Kiriko was finally seeing the quirks Asuna had been showing that Kiriko's mind was just glossing over, and hence you as the reader didn't see until Kiriko did. In her desires, Kiriko was basically telling Asuna that she wanted canon SAO Asuna instead of the girl she is currently in this fic.

As always, I hope you enjoy reading this and if you notice any glaring errors or you think I didn't explain something well enough, let me know.


	10. Chapter 10

Reality Imperfect: The Sisters' Tale

A Sword Art Online AU

Written by: Konsaki

15 Dec 2022 - Day 39

Just like stepping out of the bathroom into the hallway, the ever present swirling mists just ceased to be, revealing the ruins of Fel'Huran.

Blinking in surprise, Leafa looked back to see the mists still swirling behind her but acting like it was held back by an invisible wall. Reaching out, her hand passed through the unseen barrier, feeling the muggy humidity on the other side. "Okay… That's weird."

"Huh?" Her older sibling sounded confused, tearing her eyes away from the ruins. "What is?"

Leafa just indicated the barrier they had passed through moments before.

"Oh." Kiriko blinked before dismissing the situation. "It's just something game developers do to show this is an 'important place'. You know, as in there's some latent power pushing the mists, smoke, etcetera back so the player isn't distracted from the ruins itself."

"What are 'game developers'?" Kizmel asked, startling the raven-haired girl out of her explanation.

"Ah… Oh, well… they made everything." Kiriko shakenly stated, wondering just how the elf would take this. "You know, they made everything in Aincrad."

"So, gods unto the gods?" The purple haired woman furrowed her brow at the idea.

"Ah… basically." Kiriko shrugged. "Cardinal even told us she's the Administrator of Aincrad, not the creator of it."

"Hey! You guys coming or what?" Leafa's voice drew their attention, the blonde at the nominal entrance of the ruins, tapping a foot in impatience. "This place is't going to explore itself!"

Kiriko let out a breath, for once thankful for her sister's energy. "We're coming!"

Catching back up to the blonde, the three passed through the opening in the dilapidated stone walls. Inside those, there was only a single building, if one could call the top of a covered stairwell a building. the stone foundation and first two layers of stone walls remained to mark the fact that a building had, in fact, existed to cover the stairs but had rotted away over the centuries.

"Kizmel, do you know what this place used to be?" Leafa asked, looking down the dark stairwell before pulling out a torch from her inventory and lighting it.

"Not exactly." The dark elf woman replied, drawing her blade and moving to the front of the group before the entrance. "Though I've heard that this place is one of the reasons we still retain some semblance of magic where others have lost theirs."

"Like us humans." Kiriko said the words the elf wouldn't, drawing her own sword and torch. "So, maybe magical traps or robots to look out for."

"Just as long as it's not spiders." Leafa declared, not bothering to draw her blade due to the tighter confines of the stairwell. "That's all I've been fighting on this floor."

"What about the Treants?" Kiriko asked with a small grin as they entered the stairwell.

The green-eyed girl just huffed in exasperation. "Big plant spiders! All those dead branches and twigs look like spiderlegs!"

Kiriko just chuckled as she followed behind the other two and was the last to exit the stairwell into a relatively large stone-lined room. After verifying there were no enemies in the area, the three explored the room carefully, the flickering light of their torches just enough to see by. There were two exits, left and right, that she could see, though a large mural of some sort on the back wall held her steely-blue gaze. It spanned the entire wall, though most of it was worn and faded with time.

"So… what do we do first?" Leafa asked up, taking her own gander at the mural, seeing what looked like the elf god or goddess doing something before having to skip over a large grid of runes to where it showed a rather spectacular castle with small figures on either side of it in some form of formation.

"Well, whatever it is we're supposed to be looking for here, it's probably hidden." The black clad girl posited, using her knowledge of how game quests usually worked. This line of quest was different from the Beta but it was still close enough to others to make educated guesses. "There's probably a hidden door in the mural wall that it's hidden in."

"You sound like this isn't your first time exploring ruins…" Kizmel stated, eyeing the human.

"It isn't." Kiriko confirmed, walking around towards the right hand door. "I guess you could say I was a treasure hunter before Cardinal summoned us." She explained away her knowledge, knowing that saying she'd completed the Elf War questline before the 'world reset' wouldn't go over well.

Entering the next room, they came into a dump of a room room, mostly broken objects scattered onto the ground, spanning the gamut of metal, glass and crystal. Really, the only interesting thing in the room was that there were three indentations in the far wall.

"Great… it's one of those puzzles." Kiriko sighed, looking to the scattered junk on the floor.

"What puzzles?" Leafa inquired, blinking as her sister started rooting through the junk on the ground.

Grumbling about the mess, she used a boot to make a decent clear area on the floor, placing the first whole object she found. She glanced over to Kizmel who was doing something similar nearby. "It's one where you have to match the 'key' with the 'hole'' then something happens. In this case, the hard part is just finding the correct needles in a stack of needles."

"That's… not fun at all." Leafa pointed out, wondering why anyone would think this was entertainment. She still dutifully followed the other two in rooting through the junk.

It took them a bit but they amassed a pile of objects before the indentations in the wall and then moved on to the process of comparing them to see if any fit.

It turned out, the third object had been missed and another scavenger hunt occured, with Kizmel being the victor and plugging the key into the wall.

The room glowed with dim yellow light as the wall above the key came awake with lines of power running up the wall.

"Okay." Kiriko dusted off her hands and smirked. "Now we just have to figure out the other side and the hidden door should open or at least show us the last puzzle."

They did pause in the main room, seeing the room partly illuminated with glowing yellow runes or sigils spaced out above the mural. Kiriko saw Kizmel stop to read them with narrowed eyes but didn't comment on it.

The other side room turned out to be even more tedious, finding that the 'broken junk' from the other puzzle were actually required to complete this one.

"What was the point of all that?!" Leafa demanded, shaking her head at how little sense it all made.

Kiriko just shrugged, annoyed herself but not willing to voice it. "I don't know… maybe it was an initiation ritual or way to access the hidden area if something went wrong?"

Either way, lines of power were now illuminating the room, different from the ones glowing in the other with these being blue instead of yellow.

Going back out into the main room, they saw that blue sigils had interlaced themselves between the other ones from before.

"Okay, so now we just need to punch these into the wall to unlock the door." Kiriko informed them, moving up to the grid of now green glowing sigils, showing it to be a keyboard of some sort.

"Stop!" Kizmel commanded sharply. "Do not touch that!" Seeing the black haired human pause, the elf pushed past and stood before mural wall. Reaching out with a finger, she pressed in different buttons that had seemingly nothing to do with the sigils glowing above.

After pressing the last one, Kizmel stepped back before turning around as a grinding sound filled the room.

"Hey!" Leafa cried out in shocked surprise, leaping away from the shifting stone under her feet. A few moments later, the grinding stopped to reveal a stairwell leading down deeper into the ruins. "Good job, Kizmel!"

"Those weren't the runes on the wall that you typed in." Kiriko stated, noticing the difference almost immediately.

"Of course. Those are the question and I gave the answer." Kizmel nodded towards the wall. "Let us head down and find whatever was hidden."

"Seriously, what was the question and what was the answer?" The black clad human asked, the three of them making their way down the stairs. She glanced back as the entrance to the hidden stairs closed behind them, though a single glowing sigil seemed to mark a way to open it from this side.

"Death walks the night, Evil blights the forest; we persevere in the Goddess's name." Kizmel stated in answer.

"So, what was the answer?" Leafa asked as they continued to go further down.

"That was the question and the answer." The elf replied, a small grin on the edges of her lips. "It's an ancient saying passed down from parent to child since before memory. The first half was the part we unlocked."

"While you entered the other half of the saying." Kiriko cringed, thinking about all the 'bad ends' just repeating the sigils could have caused. "Wonder what would have happened if you hadn't stopped me."

"Nothing pleasant, most likely." She dryly replied as they finally exited the stairwell into another room.

A polished bronze dagger with elaborate inscriptions across the blade took their attention first, illuminated by the soft white light emanating from a ring on the ceiling, before the three examined the rest of the large room. Almost as interesting as the obvious artifact, all three of the walls than the one they entered through were covered floor to ceiling in stone spheres, each around half a meter in diameter.

"This smells like a trap." Leafa stated, eyeing the walls warily.

Instead of commenting on the statement, Kizmel stepped forward and picked up the dagger from its pedestal. The two humans tensed but finally relaxed as nothing happened.

"Well… okay, then. We've got… whatever this is, so let's get out of here." Kiriko said with uncertainty, not really expecting the easy outcome.

"Right. This place is starting to give me the creeps." Leafa agreed, moving back towards the stairs. Just as she passed the threshold, the room flashed red and stayed that way. "I didn't do it!"

The sounds of many things powering on echoed through the room, followed by chittering, as the spheres that lined the walls activated and started unfolding into…

"Damnnit! More spiders!" Leafa drew her greatsword with a yell, readying for combat.

Kiriko and Kizmel dashed over to the blonde as more and more spider-like golems activated. Then they collectively blinked as the golems scurried up the walls and through small passageways that had opened up while their focus was on the golems activating.

"What's going on?!" Leafa cried out, confused but thankful the constructs were leaving the room. "Why aren't they attacking us?"

"I don't know but we'd better get out of here before they do!" Kiriko yelled, dashing up the stairs three at a time. Reaching the top much quicker than it took for them to descend, she slapped the still glowing rune, the door shifting down and grinding open.

"The hell?!" A man's voice cried out in shock, the sounds of combat now audible over the grinding stone. Said man fell and landed before her, getting Kiriko to flinch back as he recovered his wits in time to stab out and impale a spider golem that shattered into shards.

"Dynamm?!" The girl shouted in shock, not expecting the pirate looking man to literally drop in before her.

The bandana wearing man blinked at the surprised girl before him. "Kiriko?! What are you do doing… Nevermind." He shook his head as he stood, head twisting as he looked at the melee on the floor above. "We've got a situation here!"

"I know! Something caused the spider golems to activate and they-ah!" She cried out in shock as someone ran into her from behind, causing her to stumble into Dynamm.

"Don't block the door!" Leafa pushed through and climbed out the side of the opening, finally seeing the melee about her. "What the heck?!"

Dynamm batted another of the artificial spiders out of the air as it tried to leap at him, the construct constricting into a ball to roll along the floor before snapping back into spider mode. He then took the time to reach out a hand and helped Kiriko up out of the stairwell, blinking as a purple haired elf followed a moment later.

"Hey! Where the hell did you guys come from?" Klein's voice called out, his sword slashing through the air in a blue arc, connecting with and shattering one of seemingly endless spider golems.

"We ran back when the spiders woke up." Leafa yelled at him, drawing her greatsword but freezing as her sister's hand held her back. "Nee-chan?"

"Don't attack." She said, eyeing the scene before them. "They aren't targeting us."

Her words rang true as the seconds passed, the mobs only going after the men in red equipment.

"Are you just going to stand there or help us?!" Klein demanded, getting pissed at the situation.

"Just run outside, guys! We got… We cleared the ruins already!" Kiriko yelled out, waving for her companions to run towards the exit with her.

The three females ran up the stairs, finding the forest dark as they exited the ruins, only stopping once they passed the ruined border walls. The pounding of feet and armor followed close on their heels, the men fleeing the seemingly endless wave of spider golems.

Klein and his friends didn't relax until they saw the golems reach the border wall, skitter around just inside of it for a bit before slowly re-enter the stairwell to disappear.

"Ah, man… That was nuts." Klein wiped a sleeve across his forehead.

"Damnit, dude! I told you to leave it alone!" Harry complained, slugging the redhead in the shoulder. "It was way too obvious!"

"Don't give me that shit, Harry! We looked around and the place looked solved." Klein defended himself, rubbing at his sore arm.

"Hey, Nee-chan." Leafa spoke up with an obvious grin. "I guess we found out what would of happened."

Kiriko blinked at her sister's statement before letting out a light chuckle. "Guess we do." She shook her head before looking at the redhead. "So, what were you guys doing here anyways?"

"We were exploring the floor and found these ruins." Kuni answered, glancing back at the stone structure. "Kind of surprised to see it already completed but your presence explains that."

"And it seems we're allies instead of enemies for the War." Issin's voice drew looks as he displayed the onyx band on his finger.

"All because Klein decided for us." Dale grinned at his friend.

"What? I figured if the kid was going Dark Elf, there had to be a good reason for it!" Klein defended his decision. "And the kid just saved our bacon." He looked towards the siblings and noticed the third with them. "Okay, so what about you guys? What's up and why is she with you? The elf commander didn't send anyone out with us."

"This is Kizmel and… well, it's a long story." Leafa gestured towards the elf woman with a smile.

"We were working together to find a missing scout in the spider nest dungeon but ran into Kibaou and his group. He's working with the Forest Elves, by the way."

"For some reason, I'm appreciating Klein's decision now." Dale grinned at his friend who flashed him a thumbs up.

"Yeah, same here." Leafa agreed. "Anyways, Kizmel hid us with her magic and scarface let slip the name of this place. Kizmel points it to us on the map, we clear the puzzles and find this dagger thing."

"And saving me and my boys the effort." Another voice cut in, a hint of amusement tinging the word. "Thanks for that, by the way."

The gathered players and elf turned to the side, readying weapons as they spotted the scared Kibaou and his crew at the mist barrier. The man seemed full of himself, grinning widely at the situation he lucked in on.

"Oi? What're you smirking about?" Klein relaxed and tapped the back of his katana against his shoulder, his own grin forming as he walked forward a few steps. "You gonna try and take us on? You really must be as dumb as you look."

"What you say, asshole?" Kibaou scowled, pointing his sword at the chuckling group of men. "Don't piss me off."

"Or what? You'll scream and cry that we cheated?" Dynamm quipped, moving up with Klein, making a gesture with his hand.

Kiriko's eyes narrowed as she saw this happen before realising Klein and his friends were putting themselves between Kibaou's group and hers. Glancing towards her sister, she whispered at her. "Get ready to run."

"What?" Leafa hissed back. "What about Klein and them?"

"They'll be fine." The black haired girl replied with confidence, glancing at Kizmel who nodded back subtly.

"I will blind them." The dark elf stated, hiding the fact that she was readying her offhand for the attack.

"Do it!" Kiriko hissed before giving Leafa a look. "Then we run."

"...press your face into the dirt!" Kibaou threatened Klein, who just stood there with a shiteating grin on his face.

"You and what army, Kibaou, old buddy? Ain't seen these guys bef-"

"Look out! She's doing som-" One of Kibaou's team cried out a warning just as a black cloud enveloped them, muffling the shouts of panic from within.

"Scatter!" Kiriko yelled, leading her group towards the north while Klein's group ran east, past Kibaou's team. The trio heading north just broke through the mist wall before she heard Kibaou's shouts of rage behind them. After a few minutes of running, changing directions with Kizmel's guidance, she had them slow to a brisk walking speed. "I think we lost them."

"Great." Leafa took a deep breath to relax. "I wonder what's so special about that dagger."

"I don't know but if the enemy want it, it's undoubtedly important to their plans." The purple haired elf commented, looking at the dagger thrust into her swordbelt. "We must deliver it to the Commander as soon as possible."

o0O0o

"Hmm." Craliel studied the bronze dagger held in his hands, flipping it over to view the etchings once more from a different angles. Letting out a sigh, he placed it down upon the map table. "While I don't currently know its significance, the enemy are interested in obtaining this artifact which means you did well keeping it from their grasp."

"If it weren't for Kizmel, I'm not sure we'd ever had made it in time, what with having to come back here to get the location and maybe a second time for translations of the runes." Kiriko stated with a nod to the purple haired elf.

"As expected of a Pagoda Knight." The dark eyed commander nodded towards Kizmel as well. "Thought your report of the spiders nesting in a critical location is troubling, especially the death of our scout. It will take some time to decode his message but we should gean some valuable intelligence from it."

"Are you going to send us to take out that nest?" Leafa sighed at the thought of fighting even more spiders.

The elf commander favored her question with a light chuckle and a shake of his head. "No, I'll petition another group of humans to do that. No, all three of you deserve to rest and recuperate. For now, have the smith tend to your equipment, grab some food in the mess tent and rest well."

Kizmel snapped Craliel a salute, which the two human's clumsily copied, getting a salute in return.

"Dismissed."

A few minutes later and trio found themselves seated in the mess tent, a large bowl of meat stew and a hunk of buttered bread before each.

"So, how long have you been a Pagoda Knight?" Leafa asked the elf, taking a spoonful of stew and humming appreciatively.

"I earned my knighthood just a year ago." Kizmel answered before digging into her own meal. "I'm nowhere near the youngest to obtain knighthood but I received mine a little earlier than expected."

"Well, you're certainly strong." Kiriko stated, commenting on the fact that the elf outleveled her and her sister by four levels and even they were overleveled for the floor.

"I have to be." The elf simply stated, tearing off a piece of bread and soaking it in the stew. "There's too much at risk for me not to be."

A quiet fell over the three tired women, choosing to focus on filling their stomachs than talk. It lasted until they were almost done, when Leafa looked up and watched Kizmel mechanically eat. "You know, it's kinda sad."

"What is?" Her sister replied in question.

"You know… the fact that whichever side wins this war, the other side is going to die." She looked at the dregs of her stew. "I wish there was a way for everyone to get along."

"Impossible." Kizmel simply replied with fierce hatred in her voice, refusing to elaborate.

"Why not? I want to know!"

"Sugu! Leave it alone." Kiriko cut in, sharp words making her young sister flinch.

The table was silent for a few moments before Leafa stood. "I'm going for a walk."

Kiriko let out a sigh. "I'm sorry for my sister's actions."

Kizmel just looked at the tired human still across from her before letting out her own sigh, looking like a large weight had fallen on her shoulders. "I had a little sister once as well."

It took her a moment to parse those words but her lips turned down after a moment. "I'm sorry for your loss."

The purple haired elf nodded at the commiseration. "Her name was Tilnel, my twin sister. I've seen how close you are to your sister but there's something entirely different when you're twins. We were inseparable."

"How did it happen?"

"We were separated." Kizmel laughed bitterly at the sour jest. "We watched each other's backs ever since the war started, surviving the odds and doing the improbable. Then… the Nobility learned of us and offered to train one of us to become a Pagoda Knight. She said that I should take it because I was older, so I went."

Kiriko watched the events in her mind's eye, making the conscious choice to keep her eyes closed to give the woman with tears rolling down her cheeks a bit of privacy in her moment of grief.

"I only learned about it after I became knighted… The day after I left for training, the forward camp was wiped out by the enemy forces." Kizmel took a haggard breath. "My sister was among the lost." She wiped her eyes and glared at the empty bowl before her. "They stole half my soul that day and, for that, I'll never forgive them."

o0O0o

16 Dec 2022 - Day 40

Kiriko's steel blue eyes snapped open, seeing her sister's face hanging over her own. "W-what? Sugu?" She tried to blink away the sleep before failing to contain her yawn.

"Wake up! Something's happening!" Leafa's insistent voice pushed away any lingering drowsiness from her elder sister. "Hurry!"

"I'm up!" Kiriko declared, quick equipping her combat kit after standing. "What's going on?"

"I don't know but Kizmel is gone and the elves are rushing around like something huge is happening!" The blonde replied exiting the tent Kizmel had shared with them last night.

Pushing out herself, Kiriko noted that it was still night… or at least so early in the morning that the sun hadn't risen yet and, true to Leafa's word, the elves were mustering and organizing for something.

Spotting Commander Craliel directing the flow of chaos around the camp, they carefully made their way over. "Commander! What's going on?"

The elven man blinked as he spotted the two human females. "Ah, you're awake, good. We've got a bit of a situation brewing."

"We can see that." Leafa quipped, a frown on her lips. "Where's Kizmel?"

The dark haired commander narrowed his gaze at the human girl but let it slide this time. "She's part of the situation. A report came in late last evening that another team had found another ruin, one that just so happened to have what seemed like a keyhole that looked awfully similar to that dagger you found."

"Awfully convenient." Kiriko commented, a frown on her lips at seeing where this was going.

"Quite so." Craliel nodded. "Kizmel volunteered to deliver it but why she declined to wake you, I'd rather not speculate. Not long ago, though, we received reports that the enemy forces are mobilizing en-mass."

"And you're doing the same." Kiriko sussed out, glancing to the growing pool of armed elves in combat equipment.

The man before her nodded. "Precisely."

"Where is she?!" Leafa stepped forward, thrusting her hand away towards the darkness of the early morning. "They're probably after whatever she found! We need to catch up to her!" Slicing open her map screen, she looked to the surprised elf. "Where is she?!"

"The ruins she was delivering the dagger to should be around here." He pointed at a spot on the southeast portion of the map.

"That's Forest Elf territory." Kiriko pointed out, a frown on her lips.

"Indeed." Was the man's reply.

"Come on, Nee-chan, we need to go!"

"Wait a second." Kiriko said, opening up her messenger and typing out a quick message. "I'm letting Klein know about this. Maybe he can help out." She soon hit the send action and closed her menu. "Okay, let's go!"

"Hold a moment longer." Craliel's voice stopped the humans, much to the visible irritation of the blonde of the pair.

"What is it now?!"

"I just presumed you would appreciate being transported closer to your friend." He quirked an eyebrow. If he enjoyed the way the girl shrunk back slightly, he didn't emote it. "Follow me."

o0O0o

The elven magic had deposited the two human players closer to the center of the floor, shaving off almost a full hour of travel, but they still had a long run ahead of them.

After a bit of travel, Leafa spoke up. "What do you think they found?"

"I don't know but it's got to be big, considering how the Forest Elves are mobilizing." Kiriko replied.

"Yeah but what do you think it is?"

Kiriko managed to shrug without messing with her stride. "If I had to guess, it's probably something needed to activate the Spirit Trees."

"But they already have enough parts to make a key." Leafa mused as she ran around the swinging arm of the Treant Sapling her sister slid under. They ignored the mob, leaving it to be swallowed by the mists behind them. "So, maybe the tool to fix the key?"

"Either that or something else they need and haven't told us about." Kiriko hedged, glancing at her map as they ran. "The only time one side or the other went all out in the Beta was when the other side was about to activate their Spirit Tree."

It took Leafa a few strides to react when the raven-haired girl skidded to a stop, leaving visible furrows in the forest floor. "Why are you stopping, Nee-chan?! We need to get to Kizmel!"

"Sugu! The elves only act like this when the other side is about to win!" Kiriko repeated with more clarity. "We're going the wrong way!"

Leafa blinked her green eyes as she processed her sister's statements. "Wait… We need to go to the Spirit Tree?!"

The shorter of the two siblings widened her map and zoomed out. A few quick lines drawn on it and she pointed to a specific spot. "That's the line Kizmel will be traveling and that's where we are. Depending on how fast she and whoever else she's with are moving, we should head to somewhere around here to try and meet up with them."

"And if we don't see them, we try to catch up." Leafa nodded with the idea. "Let's get going then!"

"Right!" Kiriko agreed as she chased after her sister.

o0O0o

"Now you're all alone and we all know how that worked out for you last time." A smug man's voice taunted from behind her.

Kizmel didn't waste her breath, continuing to run as fast as her legs would take her, the critical package held in the crook of her arm. She ducked behind a tree, the wood letting out a sharp thunk as the dagger thrown at her bit into it.

The man let out a grunt, his voice sounding closer with the miss. "You can run but you're just going to die tired."

"Do you ever shut up?!" She finally cried out in exasperation, having long since tired of his voice.

"After being forced into letting you escape once, I'm going to savor this." The forest elf replied with heady malice dripping from every word.

Kizmel spun and flashed out her saber, knocking the dagger out of the air and sliding to a stop to face her enemy. "I won't lose."

"Oh, you already have." The woody-green haired man smirked, catching the dagger as it returned to his hand. He flourished it lazily, taking his time now that his quarry had stopped running. "You see, we've been watching you lot. We know what you have in your arms and even if you somehow manage to escape me again, you'll have to fight through the entirety of our forces currently assaulting your Spirit Tree." His smirk grew teeth as he drank in the dark elf's shocked look. "Just accept your fate."

"No, you!" Another voice cried out, the man dodging as a greatsword slammed down into the space he just evacuated.

The elf hissed out a shock of pain as a dark blade nicked into his side, his second dodge a hair too slow. "Attack first, then taunt, Sugu." Kiriko chasized her sister, dashing around to try and flank the forest elf or at least drive him away from Kizmel.

"I was just giving him a fair chance, Nee-chan. Considering he was nice enough to lead us to him." Leafa smirked at the suddenly scowling elf. "Hello again."

"Sugu!" Kiriko's sharp bark shook the girl slightly. "Don't play with him! We need to get her to the tree!"

"Right." The blonde refocused, shifting her grip on her sword and carefully advancing on the forest elf.

Hearing movement to the side, he flicked his eyes to see his target dashing off into the mists. He lept back as a black blade flashed at him, forcing him to focus on the two humans keeping him occupied. "I'm going to make you regret this, humans!"

He eyed the blonde's condescending smirk, the human letting out a dark giggle. "Well, our Goddess brings us back when we die. Does yours?" Her grin became feral at the reaction he tried to hide. "Thought so."

Kiriko made an annoyed sound as the elf parried her blade, bringing it wide and throwing off her combo.

"I see your game." He counterattacked, forcing the black clad human to parry herself before he lunged away, a greatsword biting the air behind him. "You keep me distracted and she takes advantage of it."

"But can you do anything about it?" Kiriko asked, rushing in with Leafa's feint.

"I don't know." He admitted, parrying it but stepping forward to force the blonde to check her strike as he moved passed the black haired human to stab at her back. She twisted at the last second, making a kidney shot a light graze but it left him with both humans before him for the first time in the fight. "Let's find out."

They danced a dance of blades, each going for faints and pokes with the occasional powershot mixed in whenever they thought there was an opening.

Then it happened.

Kiriko was flashing through an Arts combination, trying to capitalize on the opening Leafa created. She was still stuck in the Arts Lock when she noticed him smirk.

A flourish of his daggers and her Annealed Blade was ripped from her hand. A boot to her gut had her flying back into her sister, to fall to the ground.

"It seems I can." He answered the long ago asked question, jamming the blade deep into a large tree root.

"No!" Kiriko cried out in shock as he bent the blade over, his gloved hand pushing it just a bit more before he flashed his teeth.

The brown boot stomped down. The blade snapped. The sound of a girl's breath hitching in shock following the destructive action.

"Now, I guess the question is, can 'you' do anything about it?" His smirk twisted as his eyes narrowed.

Leafa moved between him and her sister, Kiriko already swiping open her menu to equip her old beginner's short sword. It was old and unupgraded but it was at least something. Still, that instant of loss shifted the entire flow of the skirmish, with the two humans now fighting defensively against a much more aggressive elf.

"What's the matter? No snappy quips? No more flashy swordwork?" He grinned at them, looking at the blonde girl he just drove back. "Don't worry. I don't blame your fear." His voice lowered menacing. "You should be scared."

Leafa let out a wordless yell, drawing back and lunging forward in a flash of red light.

The elf swayed to the side before raising his foot and slamming it down to the dirt, pinning the long blade beneath it. He kicked out with his other boot, catching the blonde in the face and sending her sprawling. "And that's one more down."

Seeing Kiriko moving over to screen her downed sister, he shot forward, his blades glowing behind him. The black haired girl tried to block the strike but he just grinned wider. "Blade Break!"

The two daggers flashed out in a crossing path, the point of intersection aligned with the targeted blade. They passed through like the blade was dust instead of iron, the top half flying off to land in the forest loam, rendering it useless.

"And that is that." He twirled his daggers in satisfied victory over the two humans. "But remember, your Goddess will just bring you back. Ri-ghhh!"

Steel-blue eyes shot wide as a bloody saber exploded out of the elf's throat. He gurgled and reached a shaky hand up to grab it, as if to futility wish it away.

The saber retracted, letting the dying forest elf fall to the ground, as he desperately tried to keep his life blood from burbling out of his neck. Kizmel cooly stared down at him, watching as his body slowly stopped moving as the forest loam absorbed his crimson lifeblood.

"You talk to much."

"Kizmel?! I thought you escaped!" Leafa stared at the elven knight with wide green eyes.

Kiriko took a shaky breath, having stared her own death in the face and surviving. "Not that I'm not thankful but why did you come back?"

"I never left." The elf replied, reaching down to frisk the still warm body, plucking items off of it and putting them in her pouches. "I hid the artifact nearby and used disguise magic to try and get close enough to kill him."

"Well… it worked." Leafa gulped, edging around the dead elf to retrieve her greatsword.

Kiriko took a deeper breath, stepping back to keep the pooling blood from touching her boots. "We still have to get you to the Spirit Tree and it's under siege." She raised the shattered iron shortsword still in her hand. "And I'm unarmed now."

"Gather up the parts. Maybe the smith can forge you a new blade from the materials." Kizmel told her before holding up a hand, the dead elf's daggers held within it. ""And take these as well."

Kiriko took up the two weapons in the palms of both hands. Not really wielding them, just holding them with an unsure look in her eyes. "I can only use swords…"

"You can use them to block with, at the very least." The dark elf stated, standing up and looking her in the eye. "Now, gather up your swords so we can head out. The longer we wait, the more likely we'll be waylaid by enemy forces."

Hearing the truth to those words, the black haired human nodded and sorrowfully gathered the shattered remains of the sword Beth had rewarded her with for saving her son. Seeing 'Shattered Annealed Blade +5' in her inventory list caused her to wipe a tear away.

She felt her sister's hand upon her shoulder, turning to see a commiserating look in her eye.

"Come on, Nee-chan… we need to go."

o0O0o

"Issin, help Dale out!" Klein called, slashing out with his katana to drive back the two forest elves pressuring him. Two throwing knives flashed from either side of his head, one being blocked, the other driving itself into the unprepared forest elf's eye.

Another green and brown clad elf took the casualty's place, literally stepping over her dead comrade's body to push Klein back.

"This is insane!" Kuni cried out, stabbing yet another elf with his spear, taking some heat off of Dynamm who was tanking before him with his buckler and saber.

"Just keep holding the line!" Klein yelled out, taking yet another step backwards.

His newly formed guild had held that line for almost half an hour, almost ever since they showed up to help defend the Spirit Tree. Really, he was just happy that there were no players challenging their position. Oh, he heard the players yelling out in both directions but not before him or his friends.

"Switch!"

A dark elf soldier stepped forward to take Klein's place, letting the human step back to breath. The switching out also drove the attackers back a stride or two in surprise.

Stepping back a few more times, he took out a waterskin and drank greedily from it.

"Klein, how much longer are we holding out here?" Issin asked after wetting his own throat.

The redhead shot the older man a look, seeing the calm question for what it was. "As long as it takes. Kiriko and them should be here any time with that artifact thing."

"Well, they better hurry up, cause we're losing ground and my equipment's losing durability." Harry stated, using a repair kit to try and boost said durability. It was definitely an expensive repair option compared to just taking it to a blacksmith but when you were in the field or a prolonged battle like this, they were invaluable. Especially when the elves on their side were handing them out like candy.

Kuni was in the process of patching up his own spear when he jerked his head up, along with Issin. "Hey, guys… something's going on behind enemy lines."

Klein peered out but cursed when the swirling mist interfered with identifying just what was going on. Looking around, he moved over and grabbed a dark elf by the shoulder, pointing towards the commotion. "Can you see what's going on out there?!"

"W-what?!" The shocked elf stammered.

"What's happening at the back?! Hurry man!" He shook the elf and jabbed his finger out again to direct the violet haired man's eyes.

"R-right." The elf strained his eyes before they shot wide. "T-there's… It's Pagoda Knight Kizmel!"

"Okay… Okay!" Klein's voiced gained confidence as he formulated a plan in his head. "Go grab a weapon, we need everyone who can fight for this."

"W-what?! I'm a-"

"Get a weapon! Now!" Klein roared, sending the elf scurrying off in fright. He felt like a giant fucking heel for it but it needed to be done. "Anyone who can fight, gather here!" He bellowed out, waving a hand in the air.

"What's the meaning of this?!" The dark elf commander's agitated voice cut over the din of gathering elves and the combat nearby.

"Kizmel and my friends are out there fighting. We need to cut them a hole through the line." Klein pointed out over the closer line of battle, the skirmish in the back easier to see now. "If we take everyone able to fight and get them and the artifact in here, there'll be no more reason for the fight."

Cralein breathed in a deep breath, playing the scenario through his head. He finally looked at the focused human and nodded. "Do it." He pointed to the redhead and called out to the assembled forces. "Rally on him! Break the line and make a hole for the Pagoda Knight!"

"Let's win this war!" Klein yelled out, glancing towards his friends and guildmates who readied themselves. Hearing the rallying cheers of the elves around him, he let out his own wordless yell, dashing towards the skirmishing elves.

Klein's sword bit down, taking a surprised forest elf through the collarbone. Kicking the body off his sword, he trusted his team to have his flanks, Issin spearing an elf through the leg while Harry sliced high, Dynamm and Dale dual teaming their own unfortunate forest elf.

It was a bloodbath for the first few moments, the assaulting forces unprepared for the pinpoint counter attack.

After half an hour of combat, the defending force broke through in less than a minute, leaving Klein with a frontline view of Kizmel dismembering a forest elf before readying her weapon at him.

"Get in!" He yelled, pointing to the thin corridor that was quickly closing as the attacking forces adapted their front lines to squeeze against the puncture. The redhead parried and kicked the knee of an attacker, the elf going down screaming before he booted the woman unconscious. "Hurry!"

The dark elf knight and two humans shot through the gap, Klein calling for an orderly withdraw to reform the lines. Klein grimaced at the dark elf bodies he had to retreat over but the status quo was eventually restored, with him stepping back to see the three females run up and into the Spirit Tree.

"Just hold on until they're done!" He blocked and parried the more ferferently attacking forest elves, giving ground slowly with the rest of the line. Lines of damage started peppering his body as his stamina wore and the ferocity of attacks didn't.

Then a wave of power washed over the area, sending the forest elves reeling and seeming to rejuvenate the dark elves, who rallied and started to press the quickly routing enemy.

Soon enough, the enemy had completely abandoned the field, leaving the victorious defenders to cheer as they witnessed their Spirit Tree glowing with an growing ethereal energy before it shot a beam of light into the morning sky and the floor above.

Looking around, Klein spotted his tired but alive guildmates slowly moving towards him. Grinning widely, he thrust his katana into the air and cheered. "Fuurinkazan!"

His friends grinned back, thrusting their weapons skywards in victory.

"Fuurinkazan!"

END OF CHAPTER 10

o0O0o

A/N

Leafa doesn't have arachnophobia, for anyone wondering. It's more akin to having supreme pizza for every meal for a week. At first, it's good but after a while you're just sick of it.

This isn't the end of the third floor and definitely isn't the end of the Elf War, just a major turning point for the campaign on the floor.

So, Klein gets his moment to shine and not be a buttmonkey! Yay! Hope you enjoyed it… cause that's all you're ever getting! -cue evil laugh-

Also, seems that Leafa's turning into a cute little bloodknight.

As always, hope you enjoyed and let me know your thoughts.


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